Dead And Reborn
by theICEBear
Summary: The Seraph Series part 1 Set in the old days of Buffy's second year in Sunnydale. A misunderstood prophecy changes everything and only Buffy's return from death can stop the end of all... Even the Demon Dimensions
1. Prologue

Dead and Reborn  
Part 1 of The Seraph series  
-a Buffy series by theICEBear  
  
Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises and Fox. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Prologue:  
The night was warm and forgiving. The blond girl walked through the park. The demon's eyes   
followed her. The girl was good looking and he could feel the warmth of her blood all the way to   
his hideout. He licked his lips and chuckled. "And then Lyle Gorch told me to stay away from   
this town. The food is even good looking here", the vampire got up and began to stalk his prey.   
The girl walked up to a lamp post and looked around. She seemed lost. He broke into a run and   
charged her.   
  
Buffy jumped high. The vampire crashed to the ground and cursed. Buffy landed and drew a   
stake from her backpocket. It was her last. The male vampire tried to flip over and catch a   
glimpse of his prey. The last he saw and heard was the girl punting and hammering a sharpened   
wooden stake into his back. He suddenly felt light as a feather. His undeath slipping away from   
him.   
  
Buffy brushed his dust of her shoes. "You'll have to be my last kill for the evening", she   
mumbled and turned to leave. Suddenly she glimpsed Angel standing not far away.  
"Hi, what are you doing here?", she asked and kissed him full on the lips. They kissed intensely   
for a while. Then he drew her away with a pained look in his eyes. "Buffy. I didn't come here to   
kiss...", he seemed to consider those words then continued, "I was down at Willy's earlier and   
saw a vampire I hadn't known was in Sunnydale. I wanted to warn you". Buffy sighed.   
  
"Another of your old friends like Spike and...Dru", she asked slowly. Angel smiled sadly then   
replied: "No, she's not an old friend of mine. Her name is Andrea. In fact I only know her by   
reputation. She's every bit as insane as Druscilla was but nowhere near her power. Most   
vampires don't even like her. She likes to kill children and setting fires. You should warn Giles".   
Angel looked resigned. Buffy drew slightly away, she had a sour taste in her mouth. "She kills   
children", she said and almost choked on the words. "Do you have any idea, where she lives?",   
she asked and watched Angel. He shook his head. "I can try to find out", he said and held out his   
arm. Buffy hugged him.   
  
"I have to go home now", she whispered. "I love you", he said and held her tightly. "I know", she   
replied and drew in his powerful scent. Finally after a few minutes he let go of her. "Bye", he   
said and began to walk away. "Be careful", she called out to her love and then she also left the   
park. 


	2. Horror

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 1: Horror  
  
Next morning...   
  
Buffy walked into then kitchen. Her mother was reading the newspaper. She   
looked very pale. "What's wrong", Buffy asked and began to eat her breakfast. Her mother didn't   
react, then finally she put down the paper with a hopeless sigh and looked at her daughter.   
"Something dreadful happened last night", she pointed at a headline in the paper. "FAMILY   
DIES IN FIRE", the headline read. Buffy almost choked on her breakfast.   
  
"Oh, no", she said and hammered her hand onto the tabletop. "That bitch", she muttered and   
seethed with anger. "What?", Joyce suddenly asked and looked appraisingly at her daughter.   
"Who are you talking about?", she asked. Buffy almost gagged on the toast. "No one mother. I   
just cursed. This is horrible news", she said and quickly swallowed the rest.   
  
"I'm late. Bye", she said and grabbed her bag. Joyce was left behind in her kitchen wondering.   
"Did it just sound as if my daughter knew something about that fire. Is she really a criminal? Did   
she lay those fire back at Hemery High in LA?", she thought, but finally dismissed it. Joyce   
couldn't imagine something like that about her daughter.  
  
Buffy walked into the library. Giles was reading the newspaper. "This is a horrible crime", he   
muttered and sipped from his coffee cup. "I know", Buffy said and startled him. "Uh, Hello   
Buffy", he said. "How did your patrol go last night?", he asked and set his cup down.   
Buffy scowled at the paper then answered: "Well, I did away with three Bloodsuckers and I...   
Giles, Angel told me he saw a vampire last night, who kills children and likes fire. He said her   
name is Andrea". Buffy looked to Giles. He thought about it.   
  
"If she did this", Giles jabbed a finger at the headline, "then we'll have to destroy her before   
anybody else dies". Buffy nodded vigourously. "Hi Buffy, how are you?", Willow asked as she   
walked in. Buffy turned and smiled. "Fine, there is this really sick vampire chick in town, but me   
and Angel will dust her in no time", she boasted.   
  
Xander followed Willow through the doors. "What? A new vampire in town. Now somehow that   
doesn`t feature as headline news anymore. Isn`t that weird?", Xander stopped and looked from   
Willow to Buffy. "Are we going to class or are we going somewhere fun?", he asked. "Class",   
Willow promptly answered. "Fun... Hah", Buffy replied bitterly and followed Willow and   
Xander out of the library. Giles was left alone with the paper on the desk. "Better begin then", he   
muttered and walked heavily towards the vampire section of his book collection.   
  
"Then you simply apply this equation to the problem then it should be solvable in no time",   
Buffy's math teacher droned on. She was far away daydreaming about her and Angel sitting at a   
tropical beach. The sun had set long ago. The waves of black water glinting in the white moon   
light. Angel held her fast as they sat and watched the water. "I missed you", he said in an   
exceptionally sad tone of voice, as if he was almost crying.   
  
She turned and looked at him. "Don't. I came back to you. I'll always be with you", she said and   
dried away one of his tears. Suddenly they were surrounded by flames. A powerful force   
suddenly ripped Angel out of Buffy's grip. She was left sitting on a wooden floor with black   
smoke rising between the cracks. "It's beginning. Don't do it. Buffy!! Saaavvvvveeee.....", his   
voice disappeared as he disappeared in the orange blaze surrounding them. "ANGEL!", she   
screamed and coughed. "Don't leave me...", she whispered and woke back up.   
  
"So you'll have to do the exercises 8.4 until 8.8 until tomorrow. I want them delivered in the   
usual fashion", the teacher said, while the bell rang. "Buffy. Are you all right?", Willow asked as   
she looked upon her pale girlfriend. "I-I just had one of my dreams. Angel, he was burned in a   
huge fire", Buffy stuttered and began packing her stuff. "Oh, no. Is it one of those prophetic   
dreams?", Willow asked slowly. Buffy nodded her head and picked up her backpack. "We better   
go talk to Giles, right", Willow suggested and followed. "Right", Buffy answered and turned left.  
"Giles!", Buffy called out as she burst into the library. A freshman student almost jumped out of   
his skin as she yelled. He was checking out a book. Giles hushed Buffy and tried to work faster.   
"Remember to bring it back in time", he explained to the poor boy and handed him the book.   
"Sure", the student replied and circled around Buffy on his way out as if he was afraid of her.   
"Great. Another boost for my reputation", Buffy muttered and stopped in front of Giles. Willow   
finally caught up to Buffy as she also entered the library.   
  
"Giles. I think we should be a bit careful with this new vampire. I just dreamed of Angel dying in   
a huge fire", she explained. "Oh... Wait when did you have this dream?", he asked   
uncomprehendingly. Buffy looked sheepish. "Uhm, in Algebra", she mumbled. Giles lifted an   
eyebrow, but didn't pursue it further. "And you dreamt that Angel burned in the fire", Buffy   
nodded as Giles continued, "You're sure it's one of the nightmares?". Buffy walked over to the   
stairs and sat down. "Yeah, and it was really intense too. I wasn't even sleeping only   
daydreaming", she explained.   
  
Willow looked at her wristwatch. "Buffy. We have to get to class", she said and turned to leave.   
"I'll be just a second", Buffy called out to her as she left. "Giles. Have you discovered anything   
yet?", she looked at him pleadingly.   
  
"Well, yes. Here", Giles lifted a heavy leather bound tome and handed to her. "It says that   
Andrea Schiller was a german pyromaniac back in the late 19th century. There was a huge   
manhunt for her, but it turned up nothing. A few years later she turned up again as a vampiress in   
London. She killed a score of people mainly children and set fire to their families houses to cover   
her tracks. The slayer of that time tried to catch her, but she went undercover and was not heard   
from again until you told me about her this morning", he set the book down.   
  
Buffy looked at the yellowed picture of a timid looking woman wearing a very plain dress and   
had very plain hair. "She doesn't really look fearsome", Buffy said to no one in particular, "She   
looks more like a student than a vicious killer, but I'll take good care of her, when I find her.   
Guess that I have to go look for her as soon school is over".   
  
"I'll just grab some stakes and go to class. We'll talk again tomorrow", Buffy said and went for   
the weapons locker. Giles simply nodded his head and bent to look at the picture. The vampire   
really didn't look harmless in his eyes. But he guessed it all lay in the outlook of a person... or   
Slayer.  
  
Buffy walked towards the burned out building. The house had burned like a match under a   
blowtorch, she thought as she walked amongst the rubble. Buffy didn't really expect to find any   
clues, but the house had seemed as good a place to start as any other. The police had encircled   
the place with yellow police-do-not-cross tape, but those really didn't bother her.   
  
"Here I am walking around in the burned out husk of a house looking for clues on the   
whereabouts of a pyromanic vampiress. If I had been told that just two years ago I'd have   
laughed the person who told me right in the face, but then again back then I didn't really use my   
brains for much more than remembering the most in hairdo of the week or who was dating who.   
God. I have changed" , Buffy thought as she poked around between the burned walls. "Maybe I   
should try and find something", she thought and stopped.   
  
Buffy looked down. Nothing. Slowly she turned looking around in the leftovers of the house. She   
saw the burned wood, the tatters of a carpet, the sootcovered remains of a bookcase. She smelled   
the raw tang of ashes and burned flesh. Buffy almost choked at the thought but didn't. She   
walked a little further.   
  
Accidentally she kicked a piece of wood. She heard the clang of glass hitting the dirt. Slowly she   
bent and looked at the framed picture lying at her feet. On the picture there was three persons. A   
large powerfully built man who was grinning happily, a blond and equally smiling mother, who   
was holding a nice little girl with a red ribbon in her hair. Buffy felt a tear drip onto her bare   
arms. "I'll avenge you", she whispered and put the picture back down onto the soot. As Buffy   
looked up, she percieved something lying under a toppled wall.   
  
Buffy panted and hieved the wall up and over. It fell down with a huge bang and crushed several   
burnt wooden planks. Buffy looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Nothing moved in the   
garden surrounding the house.   
  
Buffy looked at the little case of burnt matches lying besides a large piece of plastic which   
seemed to have once contained something flammable. The cover of the matchcase had the name:   
"Willy's", written in white print across it. Buffy's expression turned grim. Then Willy could   
probably tell her, what she wanted. She would make him tell her. The sun was still up.  
  
Buffy walked into the closed bar. The door of Willy's always seemed open no matter what time   
of day it was. Willy was polishing a few glasses, as she walked in. "Hi old friend", she said and   
grabbed him by the collar. "Oh, hi Slayer. Feeling good. I hope you're not still angry about that   
thing back at the church", he stammered and began to sweat as he recognized her. "I haven't   
  
forgotten yet, you rat", Buffy was pissed.   
This man had connections to demons, who didn't even stop at killing children. She punched him   
in the stomach. "Arrhhh", he said and collapsed to his knees. Buffy grabbed him again and flung   
him against the bardisk. "Uhff", he gasped. "Now listen, Willy. I need to know where Andrea is?   
And I'll not ask again", she drew her hands back slowly for another punch.   
  
"Andrea? I-I don't know where she sleeps... All right. She's insane. I don't even wanna know.   
She's a killer", Buffy prepared to punch him again. "Listen I told Angel that she was in town last   
night, no one wants her here. If I knew where she was, I'd have told you. Please believe me", he   
begged and held up his hands to cover his face. Buffy let go of his collarbone and turned to walk   
away. "But I might know, where she'll be very soon", he explained. Buffy wheeled about and   
walked menacingly towards him. Willy shallowed.   
  
"She asked me to tell her where people went to party in this town... She might come to the   
Bronze tonight", he explained. Buffy stared at him. She had a date with Willow and Xander there   
tonight. Buffy shook her head and said as she was about to leave: "If I find out you lied to me.   
I´ll break a bone for each person she kills".   
  
Buffy left. Willy shook his head and looked towards his store room. "She's gone. Never say   
Willy doesn't take care of you", he said to the shadowy figure that came forth. "Good. I can deal   
with the Slayer later. Thank you Willy. You can keep your life and your bar as my thanks", she   
dropped a bundle of hundred dollar bills into Willy's waiting hands. Andrea walked to the sewer   
access and jumped into the darkness.  
  
Buffy walked into the Bronze, where she had fought many battle already in her short time in   
Sunnydale. Xander and Willow were standing a few feet from the dancing floor and listening to   
the really cool band playing on stage. "Hi guys", Buffy said and startled them both. "You have   
been spending too much time with Angel", Xander said and looked at his friend. "So did Giles   
turn up anything on that new vampire", Willow asked.   
  
Buffy smiled a sad smile. She didn't really ever have much time off these days. "Yeah, she's a   
german and a pyromaniac. She's pretty tough, one of my predecessors tried to slay her but   
couldn't defeat her. I was also down at Willy's. He says, she asked about the Bronze. She might   
come here soon", Buffy said and stared around in the crowd for a while.   
  
"It doesn't really mean that she has come yet though", she decided. "Well, how does she look",   
Willow asked and looked around nervously. "She's about five feet five, has dark hair, grey-blue   
eyes and looks older than most people here", Buffy explained and turned to have a better view of   
the door. But Andrea was no where in sight.  
  
Buffy, Willow and Xander was walking home from the Bronze. "Well that was a complete waste   
of time", Buffy said and looked at Xander and Willow for confirmation. They said nothing, then   
suddenly Willow asked: "Have you seen Angel today?". Buffy smiled but shook her head. "I'd   
better", she replied and smiled to her friends. "Just to be nice", Willow agreed. Buffy turned on   
her heel and walked in another direction.   
  
"Wait a minute Buffy, should we come?", Xander asked, but Willow just slapped him across the   
chest then pointed out the way home. Buffy didn't react, she was thinking about a lot of other   
things.   
  
She arrived at Angel's place. His door was locked. "Hell", she cursed and turned to leave, and   
almost walked into the much larger man. "Hi love", Buffy replied and reached to kiss him.   
"Hell...ummmmm", Angel was broken of by Buffy's insistant kissing. Slowly he drew her away.   
"Buffy. I think I have a clue, where Andrea might be. A blood supplier told me that he delivered   
some plasma to a female vampire looking like her to an abandoned house out on Dickens Street.   
He was pretty sure", Angel walked towards his apartment.   
  
"I have to eat before we leave", he replied at Buffy's questioning glance. "Oh. Do you think, we   
can handle her?", she asked and followed him inside. "Sure. She's a loner and most vampires find   
her too insane to be around after a while. I could handle her alone, but...", he explained and open   
his fridge. "Oh", Buffy replied as she remembered her dream this morning. "Angel, you should   
let me handle her alone. I have a bad feeling about you coming along", she said and started   
towards the door.   
  
"No, I'm not letting you go up against that maniac all alone. I didn't mean it. She is really   
very...", he tried to grab her, but Buffy drew out of his grasp. "I have to do this alone this time.   
Trust me Angel, I can't have you along not this time, not today", she said and thought for a   
second. Angel reached for her.   
  
"I'm sorry", she said with moisture in her eyes and punched him as hard as she could in the solar   
plexus. Angel collapsed. Buffy struck his neck with a knife hand. Angel fell to the ground   
unconcious. "I'm so sorry", Buffy bent down and kissed him. "I better take an extra precausion",   
she thought as she left. Buffy locked his door and walked upstairs.   
  
The basement Angel lived in was divided into two sections by a thick fire door. Buffy drew it   
shut and barricaded it with an axe from a glass box that hung besides the door. Then she left with   
intent etched all over her face. Andrea the Babykiller would die this night.  
  
"Oooohhh", Angel said and shook his head. "Oh, shit. She knocked me out", he cursed and came   
unsteadily to his feet. "I have to catch up", he moaned and stumbled out into the hall. Buffy had   
closed the fire door. Angel grabed it and pulled hard. Nothing happened. He considered   
pounding it for a while, but decided that no one would hear him. Instead he ran back to his   
apartment and rapidly dialed a telephone number.  
  
"Yo, G-Man", Xander called out as he and Willow entered the library. They had decided to   
report Buffy's findings, when they had walked by and saw light inside. "Huh", Giles said. He had   
been kissing Miss Calendar. "Whoops", Xander said, while Willow blushed. "Sorry Giles we   
didn't mean to disturb you, but we saw the light and we wanted to tell you that Buffy had...   
Xander you tell him", Willow said and backed out of the library.   
  
Xander looked after her and grinned. Giles and Jenny were also blushing deeply. "Well Buffy   
has had a little talk with Willy and he told her that this Andrea character might show up at the   
Bronze later, but she didn't, so Buffy went to see Angel instead", he explained and looked at the   
two they had caught making out. "Is it okay to come in now", Willow asked shyly and peeked   
inside. "It's okay Willow", Jenny said and looked at Giles. "Oh, and Xander. Don't call me G-  
Man", Giles said as the phone suddenly rang.   
  
"Here it is", Willow said and walked up to the blocked fire door. "Giles. Xander. We need your   
help with this", Jenny commanded and tried to pull the axe out from under the door handle.   
Together they got it out and Angel could slowly open the door. "We have to follow her", he said   
and began to walk up the stairs. The gang followed him. "But where did she go?", Giles asked   
and walked towards their cars. "She went to an abandoned house over on Dickens", he explained   
and got in to the car. Everybody quickly followed. Soon Giles' and Jenny's cars drove towards   
Dickens Street.  
  
Buffy had almost walked the entire length of the Dickens Street. "I should have asked Angel for   
the house number, before I put his lights out", Buffy mumbled and rubbed her arms to get warm.   
She looked to one side. Before her stood a two story house which was obviously abandoned.   
Most of the windows weren't intact. There were no curtains. The frontdoor barely hung by its   
hinges. And it lay in complete darkness.   
  
Buffy ran across the frontyard. She drew forth a stake. The house seemed completely silent.   
Buffy walked around to the backyard. She looked up. In a second story window a single candle   
shone from the window sil. The entire room seemed to be lit by candles as well. Buffy's face   
became grim. "Now it's time to roughhouse Andrea", Buffy thought.   
  
She dropped the stake and grabbed hold of a sturdy seeming plant which grew up the entire side   
of the house. As silently as she could Buffy climbed onto the roof. She was in luck. The house   
even had a skylight. She sneaked over and looked into the candlelit room.   
  
It could have been the studio of some artist, but now it was filled with hundreds and hundreds of   
lit candles. It had a beautiful lacquered wooden floor which slick surface gleamed with each   
candle. In the middle of the room was a large bed upon which Andrea the vampiress lay and read   
a book. Buffy drew in a deep breath and stepped back.   
  
Suddenly the Slayer crashed through the skylight and landed on the floor. "Don't you have to   
ask: "who are you?" now", Buffy asked and looked in the direction of Andrea. She seemed   
angry. "No. But tell me Slayer, how does your blood taste when boiling", she said and lit a   
match. Buffy looked at her uncomprehendingly. Andrea stood besides her bed.   
  
"Oh, well then we'll just have to see, won't we", she said and dropped the match onto the slick   
floor. Suddenly Buffy realized that the laquered slickness didn't come from the floor, but from a   
very thin layer of clear liquid which had been poured onto it. Buffy jumped into the air. The   
house caught flame almost instantly.   
  
Buffy landed on the bed. The flames seemed not to bite into it's fabric yet. Suddenly Andrea   
came jumping out of the flames, which had spread beyond the room already. Buffy guessed that   
she had spread the liquid all over the house as even the walls were all ready on fire.   
  
"Why did you jump out of my beautiful flames!!", the mad vampire screamed as she tumbled   
into Buffy. She tried to choke Buffy. Buffy slammed both of her hands into the vampire's jaw.   
Andrea let go for a second and Buffy threw her off. The vampire landed at the end of the bed.   
"Are you insane? You can't escape from this fire either", Buffy said and looked around. She   
couldn't make out either the window, the skylight or the door through the intense sheath of fire   
surrounding her. Thick smoke was rapidly collecting above her. The vampire screamed in utter   
hatred.   
  
"The flames won't kill me, they are my friends against the dreadful wooden teeth of death",   
Andrea said and jumped towards Buffy. Buffy rolled forward and under her attack. She wheeled   
about. "I'll kill you yet Slayer", Andrea screamed over the enormeous roar of the flames.   
"I have to get out of here", Buffy thought and looked at Andrea.   
  
Andrea launched herself into another attack across the asbest bed which was slowly being   
consumed by the fire. Buffy dropped onto her back, while she drew out her last stake. Andrea   
flew high once more. Buffy hammered the stake into the vampire and watched the woman turn to   
dust as she sailed into the hot flames.   
  
Buffy coughed. The smoke was getting thick even though the skylight was broken. "Think   
faster", she chided herself and looked around. She thought that she knew where the window   
would be. Buffy felt like she was breathing the flames, which had almost reached her. She   
prepared to jump.   
  
Buffy's powerful muscles pumped and pressed down upon the bed to gain momentum. Suddenly   
the floor seemed the scream in outrage and the entire house groaned. Buffy fell instead of   
jumping. She managed to grab hold of the ledge left by the bed crashing down to the ground   
floor.  
  
"Look", Angel screamed and pointed towards the pillar of smoke rising from a house down the   
street. Giles hammered the accelerator to the floor. The car drove up to the inferno. Giles pulled   
the handbrake and stomped on the brake. The car came to a screeching halt. Angel and Giles   
jumped out of the car. Behind them Jenny's car did the same.   
  
The house was consumed in flames. The orange inferno of fire, heat and toxic smoke raged   
before them. "Do you think she is in there?", Willow asked to no one in particular. "Buffy!!!",   
Angel roared and ran towards the fire. "Stop him", Jenny commanded the stunned teens. Xander   
tackled the vampire.   
  
"Angel, don't! You'll die if you go into the flames", Xander screamed down by his feet as the   
vampire began hysterically kicking him. "Buffy", Giles whispered and stepped closer to the   
flames. "She can't be in there", Willow cried and fell to her knees. "Hey, don't lose it just yet",   
Jenny said, "You have no idea if she's really in there".   
  
"She's right. We have to find out first", Giles said. "Willow, you and Jenny walk around the   
house. See if you can find anything. Anything at all", he asked and turned to look helplessly into   
the flames. "Please be all right my Slayer", he whispered. Angel and Xander got up. But Xander   
didn't leave his side.   
  
Willow and Jenny walked around the left side of the burning. Willow was still almost crying.   
"Don't cry yet", Jenny whispered and tried to sound believable. Willow looked around teary   
eyed.   
  
Suddenly she screamed and fell to her knees, while pointing at an object on the verge of being   
consumed by the fire. Jenny fumbled it out of the flames quickly. She was holding a half-burned   
stake. Willow was screaming and beating the earth with her small hands, while the sirens of the   
fire engines wailed from out in the street. Jenny shoved the stake under her blouse.   
Giles felt like another had taken control of his body. The firemen ran all over the grass and   
rapidly moved them all including the hysterical Willow out into an ambulance. Angel seemed to   
have disappeared in the chaos. "Rupert. I have to show you something", Jenny said and drew   
something from under her jacket. It was a stake.   
  
"Is this one of Buffy's?", she asked while trying to whisper. Giles looked at the half-burnt stake.   
It had been sharpened with a knife, had only a very short grip and a long sharp point. Buffy   
always made her stakes like that. He had taught her to. Giles began to cry like a little baby. Jenny   
cradled him against her chest. "Is there no chance", Xander asked Jenny. She looked at the young   
man for a little while then finally answered.   
  
"No. I don't think so, but I am not an expert", she said. Suddenly Willow got up and ran toward   
the still burning house. "Buffy!!!!! NOOOO!!!!!", she screamed and dashed towards the fire. A   
fireman managed to grab and hold her, while she kept on screaming Buffy's name. The house   
groaned.  
  
Buffy could feel the flames bite into her fingers. She couldn't see and all she heard were the roar   
of the flames. "I am going to die", she realized. Strangely the thought of dying didn't fill Buffy   
with dread. She was resigned. There was nothing to do about it. Death awaited.   
The house suddenly shifted. Buffy felt the entire floor upon which she hung give away. She lost   
her grip. She felt the hot air and smoke in the air as she fell towards the floor. "I love you all",   
was her last thought, as she crashed onto the cement floor, as she fell into the hot fires. The 2nd   
story floor landed upon her. Everything turned dark for the still young Slayer as her life slipped   
away.  
  
The house collapsed in on itself.  
  
"No", Xander whimpered and looked upon the building. He felt pain deep in his very soul.   
Xander looked upon the firemen in complete apathy.  
  
"Buffy!", Willow screamed and struggled even harder then suddenly resigned to weeping. She   
collapsed into a fetal ball on the cold wet grass. Her world seemed to have lost all reason.  
Giles saw the walls collapse in on each other. "I failed", he whispered and cried again. His Slayer   
had just died, and he had been helpless. He felt as if there was nothing left to fight for anymore.  
As the house fell Jenny Calendar felt a loss of something she had barely known existed. She had   
liked Buffy, respected her for her dedication to a unfair destiny and loved her Watcher. She knew   
nothing would ever again be the same.  
  
Angel screamed like an animal. He punched the earth as to punish it for her death. He felt like   
his will to live was gone. He felt empty inside as if his soul had been ripped from him. Angel   
raged crushing the life from the tree in the garden with a single blow.   
  
He wanted revenge. He would avenge her and destroy every vampire he ever met. Angel fell to   
his knees and remembered the blonde girl who had believed in his good side. Who had touched   
his heart. Whom he would forever love. Angel screamed and thick tears of blood dripped onto   
the weeds. 


	3. Remembrance

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 2: Remembrance  
  
"Excuse me, sir, but we wanted to have a word with you", the balding policeman said. Giles only   
reacted after a while. "Yes", he said and looked up. Beyond the police man others were talking to   
Jenny, Xander and Willow. The fire department had put out the fire a few minutes ago, but to   
Giles it was very appearant that the fire would have burned itself out eventually. There would be   
next to nothing left.   
  
"The girl over there", the policeman pointed at Willow. "said that a friend of you all named   
Buffy was in the house when it burned. Is that true?", he looked at the man, who suddenly   
seemed to wrestle with a decision. Finally Giles said: "I`m afraid that she tells the truth. The girl   
she's talking about is Buffy Summers, a dear friend of mine".   
  
"How do you know?", he asked. "She was... Can't this wait... I'm not really...", Giles broke down   
in tears. "It can wait. I think we could continue at a later time. I just need everybody's name and   
adress, then you can go. You should call someone to bring these kids and get a taxi for yourself",   
he suggested. Giles told him his name, adress and telephone number.   
  
Jenny walked over to the policemen. "I'll take everybody home", she explained and began to   
bring her disturbed friends into her car. "B-but my car?", Giles stuttered. "I'll get it tomorrow",   
Jenny explained and put her key in the ignition. The policeman looked after them as the car sped   
away.   
  
"Rupert. There is something we need to discuss", Jenny said as they began to drive down   
Dickens Street. "What?", he whispered. "What are we going to tell the authorities about Buffy.   
How did we know where to find her? Why did she do it? And what about her mother?", Jenny   
explained and concentrated upon the road.   
  
Xander stirred. "Why do we have to discuss this?", he asked in disgust. "Because we have to   
decide how to explain everything. That way we can minimize the amount of trouble", Jenny   
explained. "How about suicide?", Giles suddenly suggested. "WHAT!", Xander almost   
screamed. "Do you want everybody to remember Buffy as a suicidal maniac? What about her   
mother, she would be devastated by that", he yelled and pushed himself back.   
  
"Do you have a better idea? Do you want them to equate Buffy to the fire yesterday? You know,   
they have a record on her. She burned down school buildings in LA remember", Giles said.   
"Won't they still say that?", Willow whispered. Xander gripped her hand warmly and held it.   
"Maybe. But we just have to offer a explanation of Buffy's death not of the crime. That will   
happen outside of our control. Suicide is the only option, if they can identify Buffy's body, which   
is very likely. What is most likely that people will say about her, if we don't offer that   
explanation", he said and looked around.   
  
"They'll probably say that Buffy died trying to set another fire and got caught by her own trap.   
Suicide at least will make some people think of Buffy as something less than a psychopath. But   
maybe we should just keep quiet until they find or identify a body", he explained.   
"Maybe Buffy wasn't inside. We only have a stake as proof you know", Willow replied   
hopefully.   
  
"We'll know, if another Slayer is called, then she's dead", Giles said and looked out the window.   
"Poor Angel", Willow whispered, "He must be suffering a lot more than we do". Xander looked   
at her then back out the window. "For sure", he said.  
  
Willy's was open all night. He was serving a drink to a vampire as Angel walked in. He seemed   
as always. He wore a black jacket and dark clothing. He sat down at the bar. There was only five   
other customers. Willy walked to him.   
  
"So old friend what can Willy do for you?", he said and smiled. "Willy. I just talked to Scratch.   
He told me that you met Andrea today and that she gave you a lot of money. You met with her   
after the Slayer had been here. Is that true?", he asked in a level voice and smiled to the little   
weak man.   
  
Willy felt warm all over. "Well. You see. I was just about to go have a talk to her. She had come   
here for information, and was resting for the day in my backroom. Well, your little Slayer   
waltzed in here and started beating me around, so I decided to lead her around by her pretty nose   
and sent her to the Bronze. Andrea paid well and your girlfriend got out of harm's way", he   
explained and put on a winning smile.   
  
Angel grabbed his head and slammed it down onto the counter. The snap was clearly audible as   
Willy's nose broke. "She died not one hour ago Willy. Just because you didn't tell her the truth.   
Just because of money", he jumped over the counter.   
  
Willy got up, he shook his head while trying to regain his bearings.   
  
Angel hammered his fist into Willy's gut. He collapsed on the floor. One of the vampires   
growled threatheningly. Angel just looked him squarely in the eye and bared his demonic visage.   
He would give the vampire a painful death if it tried anything. The vampire backed away. It had   
seen the enormeous rage of the mighty vampire within Angel. Willy groaned and tried to get up.   
"No, no, no", Angel said and drew out a stake. He hammered it into Willy's leg. Willy screamed   
in utter agony then fainted.   
  
Suddenly disheartened with all the violence Angel walked out of the bar and onto the open street.   
There was only short time until dawn. "Maybe vengeance isn't the right way. Buffy! I'm coming   
to join you", Angel said and stared in the direction of the sun. He had lost heart.   
All his plans for revenge and violence suddenly forgotten. Only his loss mattered. "STOP   
THAT!", a familar voice commanded and walked out of an alley.  
  
"Whistler", Angel said and looked at the man, who had shown him the Slayer. The supposedly   
'good' demon, who wanted to help humanity, so things would be balanced more evenly. "Yes.   
Look boy. You mustn't kill yourself. It's too early. You still have to stop the evil in this town.   
Your Slayer is no more, but soon there will be another, she'll need your help as well", he said and   
looked Angel squarely in the eyes.   
  
Angel didn't even blink. "I don't want to anymore. She's gone. I'll follow her. Maybe in death we   
can be together", he said and a tear of blood ran down his chin. "Listen to yourself. If she heard   
you give up upon the world just, because she was not in it anymore, she would be very angry   
with you. The Slayer loved this world. She protected it. Can you do less?", Whistler said in a   
harsh tone.   
  
Angel fell to his knees in anguish. "I don't know, how long I can do this", Angel said and looked   
upon the stars in the sky. "You owe her to do it for at least as long as she knew you. Trust me   
Angel, if you protect this town for two more years, you won't regret it. Do it for her. After that   
you can do what you want", he said and walked away. Somehow he already knew Angel's   
answer.   
  
"In memory of our love", Angel whispered sadly and got up.  
  
Whistler stopped inside the deep shadows of the alley. He knew that she hadn`t been destined to   
die tonight. The forces of good had lost their greatest piece in the game, before it`s time. They   
wouldn`t accept that.   
  
"Don't worry my friend. Death isn't always forever", he said with a smile and walked on. He had   
other duties, and he couldn`t do more to get the other side to react. He would just wait and see.  
"Move this", the hard voice barked. A motor whined under the stress of lifting the left overs of   
the 2nd story floor. The young fire man looked underneath with a flashlight. He gulped.   
A deeply burned body lay there. The floor had crushed it. "Sir-r, I think this is a case for the   
police after all", he stuttered and pointed under the heavy floor board. The older man looked   
underneath as well. His stoneface didn't reveal any emotions.   
  
"All right people get those floorboards away, then we move out. The experts will take over from   
here", he yelled and gesticulated to the man operating the crane. Without saying another word he   
walked over to his wagon and reached for the radio.   
  
"Dispatch. Would you please call the police and tell them that the spectators last night were   
right. We just found a body", he said and shivered. He was sure that body could only belong to   
someone very young, it was certainly small enough.   
  
The next day. Joyce and Hank walked out of the gray building. "City morgue", the somber sign   
above the doors read. Another couple was also leaving. Business as usual on the Hellmouth.   
"Why?", Joyce moaned and pressed her face against the larger man's chest.   
  
Carefully he reached up with one hand and held her. Hank also felt the deep wrenching pain, but   
he hid it deep inside. He locked it away for there was no one to blame, no one to vent his anger   
on. "I don't know", he said and guided his former wife to his car.   
  
"She was doing better. She had good friends. She didn't make as much trouble in school as in LA   
and some of her teachers absolutely adores her. She had no reason to do this", Joyce said and got   
into the car.   
  
"Listen honey, they're not even a hundred percent sure it's Buffy. They only have her jewelry to   
go on. You heard what the doctor said. That girl in there had fractured her wrists, elbows, knees   
and ankles at least ten times in the last year or so. I'm don't recall Buffy doing that or you telling   
me about it. So I'm not convinced", he said and tried to sound believable. He had also recognized   
Buffy's cross, and the earrings he had given her last summer. And he had a nagging suspicion   
that Buffy had been up to a lot of fighting in her past, which could explain those fractures.   
The look in Joyce's face said it all, she knew he was trying desperately to give her some hope.   
She sighed. "Some days I felt that I didn't understand her. She seemed so irresponsible and   
reckless, then at other times she was far away and unreachable. But when she came under   
pressure, she seemed to be in her element. I don't believe that she killed herself. It's just not like   
her. Wait a minute", Joyce suddenly jumped.   
  
"I know where we can get our answers. Buffy kept a diary. She wrote in it every day. We could   
read through it. Maybe we can find out, why she did this", she suggested. Hank disapproved of   
invading his daugthers privacy, but somehow he agreed with Joyce, they needed to find out why   
Buffy had been like she had been.   
  
"It's not here", Joyce cursed and emptied the drawer onto Buffy's bed. "What! Are you sure she   
kept it in there", he asked. "Of course I'm sure, but we could just as well begin sorting through   
this stuff. I-I must still decide what to do with it all", she said and once more realized that her   
one and only daughter had died.   
  
They began looking through Buffy's room. "Strange", Joyce mumbled as she opened Buffy's   
trunk. Inside lay clothing and some paper. "That trunk is deeper than that", Hank suddenly said   
as he also looked inside.   
  
Joyce grabbed the sides of the trunk and lifted the top tray out. "What the hell??", he exclaimed   
in surprise. The bottom of the box was filled with wooden stakes, crosses and small vials of a   
clear liquid. "I had expected cigarettes, weapons or drugs, but not this", Joyce said and lifted a   
stake out of the box.   
  
Hank bent down and took one of the vials. He opened the glass flask and sniffed then poured   
some of the liquid onto his hand and tasted it. "Water", he said and cocked an eyebrow. "This   
doesn't help us", Joyce said in disgust and threw the stake back down. "Let's keep on looking",   
Hank suggested and open the closet to the left of him.   
  
"Joyce, why did Buffy do this?", Hank asked and held forth a leather jacket. "What do you   
mean?", she asked. "There is small pockets sewn into the lining of this one and in the other one   
there is pockets sewn into the sleeve. Wait a minute there something in this one", he said and   
drew forth another wooden stake.   
  
Joyce took the jacket and looked them over. "I don't know. I think there is a lot more to this than   
we know. Do you think Buffy could have lead a secret life? One we didn't know about", she   
asked. Hank shrugged. He had only seen her on some weekends.  
  
Five days went by. The police decided to believe the suicide theory. No one tied Buffy to the   
other fire, while one of the firemen did say that Buffy had laid the fire in such an expert fashion   
that her death simply could not have been an accident. Buffy had been identified by her jewelry   
as she had no dental records of any distinction. The burial was set for the afternoon.   
Giles felt uncomfortable. He had ordered Angel to steal Buffy's diary from her room as to   
prevent any discovery of Buffy's true identity. She had always gone to extreme lengths to ensure   
that her mother didn't learn her secret.  
  
He had felt that she would have wanted him to preserve her secret even beyond death. Buffy   
was the only person with the right to reveal that secret. The weather was dark and oppressive. A   
thick cloud cover warned of the rain that was soon to come. He felt that it was only fair that the   
world cried at the loss of it's most stalwart protector.  
  
Willow, Xander and Cordelia arrived together. Willow had recovered some from her hysteria   
eventhough she hadn't been in school for days. Xander was taking Buffy's death a little more   
calmly than her, but she knew he kept his emotions bottled up inside.   
  
Cordelia hadn't cried at the news of Buffy's death or anything. She hadn't even said a word,   
maybe because she didn't feel the same loss as the others. Buffy hadn't been her friend, she had   
just become a part of the team by association.   
  
With a sigh Willow left the car. The clouds hung low and promised rain. Willow almost cursed.   
Why couldn't the sun shine? Buffy had always hated rain. The first drop fell on her forehead.   
Willow began to walk to the small group of people collected around a white coffin.   
  
Xander felt dead inside. He hadn't laughed since Buffy's death, he just didn't feel anything was   
funny right now. He had nursed a crush on Buffy since she had bumped into him on her first day   
in school. Even when she had been revealed as a teenager with a deadly hobby, he had stayed   
around.   
  
He had revived her from death once, but he knew that wouldn't happen again. Deep down inside   
he believed that he would never forget this grief this pain. The rain began to pour in earnest. He   
found relief in it. At least no one would see his tears. He glanced at the other people collected   
around the white coffin, as the priest began the ceremony.  
  
Cordelia Chase stood with her hands folded in her lap. She had never thought of Buffy as a   
friend, but then she had never thought of anyone as a friend. Buffy had always been there   
though. She had protected her. She had always tried to look hip. She had always gotten them in   
trouble. But Cordy didn't think less of her.   
  
Buffy had died fullfilling a duty she hadn't wanted. Cordelia realized for the first time that she   
both respected and pitied the girl, who could have been her rival, if a cruel fate hadn't decided   
otherwise. Cordelia looked at Buffy's parents, who were both crying as the ceremony went on.  
Jenny Calendar had been invited by Rupert to Buffy's burial. She looked at the heartbroken man,   
who still seemed crushed by the death of his dearest friend. Jenny held his hand. She gave it a   
little squize. She observed the continuing ceremony, while the rain slowly drenched them all.   
The priest completed his final blessings and Buffy could be buried.   
  
She looked at the sandy blond woman, whom Rupert had identified as Buffy's mother. "Poor   
woman. Too think that she'll never learn the truth about her heroic daughter. But Rupert is right.   
It's not our decision to make. Buffy didn't want her mother to know, and I can't see what good it   
would do anyhow", she thought and looked once again at the closed coffin.   
Inside, she knew, Buffy's broken and burned body lay. Jenny sighed. Sunnydale was in trouble   
without a Slayer. Already there was talk that Spike and Druscilla had survived Buffy and   
Kendra's attack and that they were planning something big.   
  
Rupert had told her just last night that all hope for Buffy was gone, a watcher had just discovered   
the next Slayer. She was 15 years old, american and incidentally her family were moving to   
Sunnydale in a few weeks. Kendra would help out until then.   
Rupert had been assigned to the new Slayer, because he had the most experience in training   
american Slayers and keeping those unruly individualists in line. And he had the most experience   
with the Hellmouth.   
  
The ceremony ended. Slowly the mourning group walked away. The coffin had been buried in   
Sunnydale's earth.   
  
The Summers house seemed a bleak place to everybody. Joyce was serving coffee. Suddenly   
Willow asked as she was pouring another cup to Giles: "Are you going to stay in Sunnydale?".   
Joyce looked at Willow and blinked twice.   
  
"I haven't thought about it yet, but I think so yes. I still have the gallery and she's buried here.   
Yeah, dear I'm going to stay", Joyce answered and smiled sadly. She glanced at the ceiling.   
She hadn't put Buffy's things away. She had just covered everything in white sheets and wrapped   
her clothes in plastic. She didn't want to hide all those memories too far away. Buffy would   
always be with her in some way like that, as would her smell.   
  
The somber group fell back to silence. Then Hank, who had looked at Willow for a while,   
suddenly asked as she looked his way.   
"Willow, how did you know that Buffy would commit suicide?", he tried to be blunt and provoke   
a reaction. The question hit her like a knife, but Willow who had fought demons and vampires   
with Buffy regained control quickly.   
  
"She had been strange all day, then as we were walking home from the Bronze Buffy began   
talking about her life, and how miserable everything was for her. She said that she couldn't   
handle the constant rejection from everybody. The accusations that she was a bully and a   
criminal. She was deeply depressed by the entire Ted thing. Maybe she had a breakdown. I don't   
know, but she said that she would end it. She ran off in the direction of Dickens Street, and I was   
never in the shape she was. I ran into Giles and Jenny, who were leaving school, I convinced   
them to help me. We also picked up Xander on the way. We believed that we could...", Willow   
suddenly burst into honest weeping, she hated sullying Buffy's memory like this.   
  
"We thought that we could convince her not to do it, but we were to late. The house was already   
going up in flames, when we came", Giles finished Willow's story, while Jenny tried to comfort   
her. Joyce and Hank looked at each other. Hank seemed thoughtful. "I'll be dropping in from   
time to time", he said. Hank got up and left.  
  
Four weeks passed...   
  
Giles was standing behind a tombstone. Angel was right besides him. "She's still a beginner", he   
remarked. "Buffy also began as one", Giles replied and looked at the ravenhaired girl, who was   
trying to defeat her tenth vampire.   
  
The Slayers natural fighting ability showed in her, but Angel was right. Wendy was still too   
inexperienced to fight any vampire of stature. Wendy finally plunged the stake upwards and into   
the vampire. He disintegrated to dust. Giles and Angel walked up to her.   
"You're still too slow. And you have got to keep your guard up all the time. Any combat trained   
vampire would have flattened you in a second", Angel said mercilessly. "Hello, and no I don't   
like you either", she replied and dusted of her clothes. Giles smiled slightly. Buffy and Angel's   
relationship had also been bumpy in the beginning.   
  
"I have only been doing this for two weeks, give me a break here", Wendy brushed some of her   
hair back. "Can I go now?", she asked and grabbed her coat from Giles. "Of course, and Wendy.   
Tomorrow when you come to school, show up in the library before you come to class. It's a   
standard procedure, so I'm sure you're ok after a night`s patrolling and to exchange news and   
such", he explained as they were walking out of the graveyard.   
  
"But I'll be late for my classes. Isn't that going to get attention sooner or later?", she asked. "It   
will, but don't worry they are used to it here", he replied mysteriously. Nobody had told Wendy   
about Buffy. It was still too early for such stories. 


	4. Ex Nihilo

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 3: Ex nihilo  
  
Almost a year passed…  
  
"Hi Willow", Wendy yelled and walked up to the pale redhead. They had known each other for   
almost a year. Willow spun around and smiled. "Hi Wendy", she muttered and was once again   
lost in thought. She seemed sad.   
  
Wendy frowned, Giles had been acting just as depressed this morning. "What's wrong?", she   
asked as they walked through the sunshine.  
  
Willow looked at the younger girl. She considered. Wendy had been Buffy's replacement for   
almost a year now. She had defeated demons and vampires. They had helped her, and so had   
Angel, who had saved Wendy time and time again. And therein lay the problem.   
  
Wendy needed their help badly. She wasn't anywhere near Buffy's fighting abilities or flexible   
mindset. Maybe they were too harsh with her, but somehow neither Willow, Angel or Giles   
could entirely forget that Buffy had been better than this girl.   
  
It wasn't really her fault though. Wendy simply had different talents than Buffy. Wendy had been   
somewhat of a nerd before her transformation into the Slayer, and somewhere deep inside of her,   
her old personality still existed.   
  
Wendy was a great researcher and more often than not she could actually help Giles with his   
research or work together with Willow on the computer. Maybe that was what bothered Willow   
about Wendy. She could do her job.   
  
"Well?", Wendy asked once again. Willow decided that she would tell her. "I'm just a bit sad   
that's all. It has been exactly a year since one of my friends died. Her name was Buffy", Willow   
said bitterly. Wendy couldn't know, who Buffy was.   
  
Giles had demanded that they didn't reveal their previous experience to the young Slayer else she   
would be disheartened. So they hid the truth from her, but Willow had never really agreed with   
this. At first she had thought it unfair towards Buffy, later when she had gotten to know Wendy   
better, she had decided that it was unfair towards her as well.   
  
Wendy deserved to know about the wonderful girl, who had died protecting the city. And Buffy   
deserved to be remembered for the truth about her, instead of the lie that they had invented to   
cover the truth and make her death more palatable to the police and her mother. Willow made a   
decision. She would go against his wishes and tell her. Right away.  
  
"She was very special", Willow said and sat down in sun. Wendy dumped down on the grass   
beside her. "She was your friend that makes her special", Wendy replied sagely. "No, not like   
that. I mean really special", Willow looked around for spectators.   
  
"She was a Slayer just like you", Willow explained and watched Wendy for any reaction. Wendy   
didn't say anything, she just looked at Willow. "She was the Chosen One before me", Wendy   
realized, "She's the one, who brought you all into this".   
  
Wendy seemed flabbergasted for a few seconds as something she had wondered about for a year   
fell into place. "She saved our lives time and time again. She defeated the Master a mighty   
vampire lord, befriended Angel, saved the world a few times and our lives as well", Willow said,   
she was suddenly overwhelmed by the memories of her best friend, a friend she would never   
meet again.   
  
"Angel actually had friends", Wendy joked bitterly as she thought about the bitter vampire, who   
constantly criticized her and her fighting technique. Willow was about to speak but decided not   
to.   
  
Wendy looked at the pale young woman. "And she died a year ago today?", she asked. Willow   
nodded her head and muttered: "Actually a year ago tonight". Wendy and Willow sat a long time   
in silence. The bell was about to end their break, when Wendy suddenly asked: "How?".   
  
Willow stared at the 16 year old girl. "She was caught in a fire", Willow finally said and got up.   
  
Wendy looked after the girl as she walked away. "Strange the mere thought of this girl seems to   
bring forth some very painful memories for them all. Giles were acting just like Willow this   
morning. Jenny, Angel and Xander are probably just the same. I think I have to find out more   
about this Buffy. I guess I'm off to do some research", she thought and turned to walk to the   
library.   
  
Giles was sorting some old books as Wendy walked inside. "Oh, hi Wendy. Shouldn't you be in   
class?", he asked and looked her over. "Well, maybe but I wanted to continue some of my   
research on Acathla, since it resides here in Sunnydale", she explained and walked to Giles'   
special book storage.   
  
"Oh", Giles said and seemed lost in thoughts again as his Slayer went about researching her   
favorite subject. The demon whom they had sealed away a few months ago.  
  
Wendy looked at the book shelfs. Giles was a very orderly librarian and as such would probably   
have books on the different Slayers and the like. She would have to look for his personal journals   
or very recent works of Slayer lore though.   
  
Wendy put the journal she had pilfered from the library down in surprise. Willow had made an   
understatement, a very special girl indeed. "No wonder Angel is never satisfied with me. He   
loved her and she loved him. And the things she did. She even died and came back", Wendy   
thought and suddenly looked at her wristwatch. "Damn got to return this before Giles misses it",   
she thought and ran back to the library.   
  
Wendy had just put the last book back in place as Giles walked up to her. "Listen Wendy I would   
like you to go on patrol tonight. There are more vampires in town than usual and I'm afraid that   
the number will increase drastically, if you don't destroy some", he said and put a book back on a   
low shelf.   
  
"Sure my Watcher I'll snuff some for ya", Wendy replied and walked away. "Sometimes I think   
we underestimate that girl", he said. "Yes", Angel said. Giles jumped up with a startled gasp and   
bumped his head against a shelf.   
  
"Ouch", he said and sat down on the worn carpet. "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you", Angel said   
and helped the man to his feet. Giles rubbed his neck. "So what brings you here?", he asked and   
looked at the dark dressed vampire.   
  
"I thought we might have a little gettogether tonight to remember Buffy", he explained. Giles   
seemed to consider it. "I'll be there. Where should we meet?", he asked and cocked an eyebrow.   
"How about my apartment?", Angel suggested. "That will do", Giles muttered and remembered   
the error of judgement that had cost Buffy her life.   
  
"I'll contact the others", Giles offered. Angel nodded and turned to leave. Giles looked after the   
heartbroken vampire. He was still mourning Buffy even a year after her death. Giles knew that.   
"I guess the pain never entirely goes away. It just gets bareable", he thought and walked into his   
office. He still had research to do, the vampires were collecting in Sunnydale in numbers not   
seen since the days of the Master, and he couldn't tell why.  
  
"Welcome", Angel said and opened the door to admit Willow and Oz. Oz was her boyfriend and   
a werewolf. He looked at the couple and then pointed them to the big table in the center of his   
one room apartment.   
  
"I like your new place better", Willow commented and looked around. Angel smiled and closed   
the door. He had moved from his other apartment, when his landlord had decided to condemn the   
building. It still stood back there near the Bronze, but he hadn`t wanted live there anymore   
anyway.   
  
There they had been together, there they had enjoyed themselves. Angel didn't want to remember   
that. He walked to the head of the table and sat down. "I hope you like the food, I haven't tasted   
it, so I don't know", he explained and looked around at Buffy's old friends. He hadn't invited   
Wendy.  
  
In another place.  
  
Everything was white.   
  
Everything was light.   
  
Suddenly a voice spoke: "Do you want to return?".   
  
"Yes", came the answer without thinking.   
  
"Nothing will be the same. Your old life is gone", the voice said again.   
  
"I know, but I understand my mission", she answered. Suddenly there was a wrenching pain.   
  
"Will I remember this?", she asked.   
  
"No, but in time you will", the voice answered gravely. She felt her awareness fade.   
  
"They mustn't know. You can't tell them. They must learn from this as well", the voice said.   
  
"Yes. It is sad, but I accept the terms. Will this war ever end", she asked.   
  
"No, but you'll have some peace when this mission is over", the voice explained.   
  
She heard a crescendo of song filled with unearthly beauty and infinite sadness, as she fell   
towards the realms below. They all sang to console her, to wish her a safe passage. They all sang   
to her and she was content.   
  
She lost awareness.  
  
The headstone of her grave shattered.  
  
A white light suddenly filled the building site. It came from an infintisimal little star, which   
hovered over the very spot where she had died. Slowly the pinprick of white grew into the shape   
of a young woman dressed in a beautiful white dress. Beautiful blond hair hung loosely from her   
young head. She was surrounded by a aura of light. Then the dress, the light and the aura   
disappeared.   
  
The girl suddenly wore the same clothes as those she had died in. Her eyes opened and she   
looked around. She was standing in the middle of a building site, where someone were building   
some large mansion.   
  
She looked around in bewilderment, then she remembered her last moments.   
The girl walked out onto the street and disappeared into the night, while trying to determine   
where she was. Across town Angel was saying goodbye to his guests.  
  
Wendy walked into the pale light of the street lamp. She had been on patrol most of the night and   
had already eliminated one vampire. Her heart wasn't in it though. She was thinking. She was   
thinking about Buffy, the girl who had died in this very town, doing the exactly same thing as   
she was doing just a year ago tonight.   
  
Wendy didn't like to admit it, but she would rather had been a Watcher than a Slayer. She   
actually felt uncomfortable with her strength and abilities. She could defeat any normal person   
and most vampires. Wendy was lost in thought as she headed home.   
  
Suddenly Wendy heard a scream of utter terror. She turned to face in the direction of the sound.   
It came from somewhere close to the Bronze. Wendy ran all that she could. She realized that she   
was getting close to the Bronze.   
  
Suddenly she saw a vampire running down the street towards her. He was wearing his demonic   
face and constantly looking over his shoulder.   
  
Wendy was puzzled. "Hey suckface, where do you think you are going?", she said and drew a   
stake. The vampire stopped dead.   
  
"Hmm, he looks like he has to decide between death or destruction", she thought. "Die Slayer",   
he roared and suddenly charged. But Wendy was ready for him, she sidestepped him, wheeled   
about and hammered the stake into his back.   
  
He disintegrated to dust.   
  
Wendy ran in the direction, he had come from. She walked between the warehouses and alleys   
close to the Bronze. Wendy stopped dead and looked down an alley again. There were several   
piles of dust shattered around. There seemed to have been a major fight there. Wendy counted   
three maybe four dead vampires.   
  
"Now I know something is going on", she muttered and looked around. There were no other   
tracks or even blood. "Someone just walked up and dusted three or more vampires and managed   
to scare one off. Now that is impressive", she thought and resumed the last stage of her usual   
patrol.  
  
The girl walked down the stairs. She ignored the condemned sign. Many buildings in Sunnydale   
were condemned, there were just not a lot of them that were actually demolished. She walked   
past the thick steel firedoor and ended in front of a normal door.   
It was open. Inside everything but a few matresses and some pieces of paper were gone. The girl   
sighed deeply and closed the door behind her. She desperately needed sleep and she didn't want   
to walk any further. She collapsed upon the matresses and fell into a deep and healing sleep.  
  
Next morning...   
  
Willow had a free first period and was doing some homework on a laptop, when Wendy walked   
in for her morning report to Giles. "Ah, Giles just the man I want to see", she said and walked up   
to the librarian.   
  
"So how was last night's patrol", he asked without looking up from his newspaper. "Fine I dusted   
two vampires, but at this rate someone is going to beat my record", she said and walked up to sit   
besides Willow.   
  
"What?", Giles asked at her cryptic remark. "Well, someone really messed up the vampires' act   
last night. I found three dustpiles and I caught one of my kills, when some totally terrified   
vampire came running my way without looking. I'm telling you someone else is killing vampires   
and they're definitely not loving it", she explained and looked at the others.   
  
"You are sure about that", Giles asked and looked to Willow. Wendy nodded vigourously. "Well   
that's not good. We'll have to find out what is doing this of course", Giles said.  
  
Wendy stood besides Giles. He seemed tired. He had been trying to determine what was going   
on in Sunnydale. Why the vampires were coming to Sunnydale in droves and why something   
besides the Slayer had succeded in killing a large group last night. She looked at her watch.   
She had to go home soon or her mother would freak out again. She had lately become convinced   
that Wendy had become a member of some kind of gang or something and Wendy fought hard   
not to reveal her secret to her family once and for all. "Willow, would you look into Tobin's   
guide?", Giles asked and looked at the pale girl sitting besides Xander and Cordelia, who were   
doing their homework.   
  
"I have already looked, but there are just not enough too go on yet", she sighed and slammed a   
heavy book shut. Wendy had known that would be the result of their search, they wouldn't learn   
anything new until the sun had set and the bad guys came out to play. Suddenly Wendy felt   
watched.   
  
She whirled about, but couldn't see anything. "What's wrong", Xander asked and looked up from   
his book. Wendy didn't answer, she was trying to listen. She heard the breath of her four friends,   
she heard the wind slipping into the library through the door to the hall and she heard the slight   
creaking of floorboards up amongst the stacks.   
  
She dropped the book, she had been holding and vaulted up over the wooden rails and landed   
amongst the bookcases. She thundered around a corner.  
  
And found nothing. No one. She stopped and listened once more. "Wendy! What are you   
doing?", Giles cursed, the book she had dropped had struck his foot. "SHH!", she commanded   
and tried to listen again. No unfamiliar sounds reached her this time. "Damn", she cursed and   
walked back to her friends.  
  
"What the hell was wrong?", Giles asked still angry. "I thought I heard someone amongst the   
stacks, but it was probably nothing", Wendy answered and dumped into a chair. "Maybe I'm a bit   
overexcited", she commented and turned her attention back to a book. "Maybe...", Giles replied   
thoughtfully.  
  
The sun shone red through the clouds. The sun was once again setting over Sunnydale and the   
Hellmouth. In a long abandoned warehouse a very blond vampire stood before his underlings.   
  
"Listen to me. We have returned to the Hellmouth to do a duty that is long overdue. For the last   
few years this place, which should be our bastion, our feeding ground, has been controlled by the   
Slayer and her ridiculus friends. Tonight we take the first step to reclaim that birthright. Tonight   
you feed. And tomorrow the Slayer dies", Spike's word almost sang in the blood of his enthralled   
followers.   
  
A golden amulet of a ruby eyed demon hung around his neck. It's eyes glowed with every word   
he spoke. Soon the vampires split up into small groups and left. Spike sat back down. "This little   
charm works rather well", he commented and laughed harshly.   
  
"Soon Slayer I'll drink your heart's blood, soon I'll be even mightier", he said and walked to the   
seven armor clad vampires kneeling around an idol. "Tomorrow", Spike said with a smile and   
also dropped to his knees. The ritual hadn't been finished.  
  
She walked down the street towards Willy's. A vampire walked drunkenly towards her. She   
couldn't smell any alcohol, it was trying to play a trick on her. She smiled knowingly and kept   
walking as if she knew nothing.   
  
Suddenly the vampire growled and jumped towards her. Faster than the vampire could even   
imagine her hand grabbed the vampire's neck and crushed it with a hard wrench. It gasped. She   
brought forth her weapon and stuck it into the vampire's chest. It dusted on the spot. She resumed   
her walk towards the bar.  
  
Willy's really hadn't changed, since her last visit there. The girl now wore a dark long cloak and   
covered her face with a hood. It made her look a little mysterious and left her mostly anonymous.   
She stepped past the now unconcious bouncer and looked inside.   
Willy wasn't there, maybe he was out on business. That suited her even better.   
Then there would be no one to recognize her. The vampires were about to learn what it meant to   
be undead in Sunnydale. The girl drew her weapon from beneath the cloak. Everybody noticed   
the large weapon, which couldn't have been hidden there. She smiled broadly and began her   
bloody dance.  
  
The large group of vampires returned to Spike's lair. Most had fed well and were ready for   
tomorrow. Spike surveyed his troops. There were huge gaps in their ranks. "What has   
happened?", he nearly screamed and gesticulated towards the empty spots. One of his lieutenants   
stepped forth.   
  
"We don't really know, Spike. Most that went down to the Bronze and everyone who went to   
Willy's hasn't come back", he said. Spike felt like annihilating the vampire instantly but   
reconsidered.   
  
Suddenly a vampire burst into the warehouse. It seemed filled with fear and kept looking over it's   
shoulders. It was deeply wounded and it's vampyric blood was dripping on the floor. Spike ran to   
it. He wanted to kill it instantly, but chose instead to wait and learn.   
"Spike", the vampire whispered and fell to the floor. "What happened?", he asked. "I went to the   
Bronze with the others, but before we could enter the new Slayer and that traitor Angelus fought   
us. We lost. I fled to Willy's as we were supposed to. But...but. The place was a mess. Dead or   
dying vampires everywhere...", the vampire closed it's eyes and sighed.   
  
Spike grabbed and shook it. "Who did it? Who killed everybody at Willy's?", he screamed at the   
dying vampire. "She did. The One", he gasped and slowly dusted between Spike's fingers.   
"AAARRRGGHHH!!!!!", he screamed. "I hate that", he screamed and hammered a stake into   
one of his minions.   
  
It dusted on the floor with an surprised expression on it's face. Spike began crushing furniture.   
They drew away. "No one will interfere in our plans. NO ONE!", he yelled and punched a   
concrete pillar. Huge chunks of concrete fell off. "Find thing which did that and destroy it   
utterly", he commanded. The vampires scattered, rushing to fullfill his command, but it was   
futile. The strange entity the dying vampire had called the One had disappeared without a trace.  
Angel and Wendy stood before Buffy's grave. "So you knew?", Angel asked. "Willow told me",   
she replied and looked at the carnage. "I will destroy whom ever did this", Wendy said in anger.   
Angel didn't speak, he just looked at her grave. Someone had smashed her headstone.   
  
"Don't worry about that now. Buffy is dead, she doesn't care about the headstone no more", he   
said, "You must worry about that group of vampires, we met earlier. They don't usually hunt   
together in large groups. Not unless they're planning something special. You must be ready.   
Remember to tell Giles about this".   
  
Angel turned and left, leaving the freezing Slayer behind. "Damn", she cursed and looked again   
at the broken headstone. "I'll keep your city safe", she whispered, turned and went home.   
Next morning...   
  
"Call off your morning classes or something", Wendy said as she went by Xander, Oz and   
Willow. "The bloodsuckers are beginning to show up in droves", she explained and kept on   
walking towards the library. "Oh no, not again", Cordy sighed, but still followed the gang   
towards the library.   
  
Giles and Willow were discussing a certain translation of a text about vampire crusades as the   
phone suddenly rang. "I'll go", he said and left Willow. "I'm sure that I'm right", she muttered   
and walked back to the rest of the gang, who were busily looking up references in certain very   
unsavory books.   
  
Willow sat down. "Got anything?", she asked. The mumbled responses were all negative even   
Wendy who was practicing throwing knives towards a wooden target seemed a bit anxious. Giles   
talked on the phone for a few more minutes. Willow had just gotten back to concentrated   
reading, when he spoke: "That was Angel. He was out all night looking for clues on the things   
that happened last night and learned a lot".   
  
Everybody put down their books to listen. Wendy stopped throwing knives.   
"First of all Spike is back in town on some kind of mission. He is lairing in the warehouse again.   
Secondly the group Wendy and Angel defeated outside of the Bronze were only a mere   
smattering of his forces. He also sent groups to the mall, to the bus station and even to Willy's.   
Angel has heard something strange about the vampires who went there though.   
It seems that vampire killer has been at it again. It singlehandedly destroyed somewhere   
inbetween ten and fifteen vampires, without leaving any clues or tracks behind. No one who saw   
the killer survived to tell the tale.   
  
Angel says that all Spike's vampires spent all last night trying to track the vampire killer down,   
but didn't succed. Apparantly Spike only knows that the killer is called the One and it is a she",   
he finished and looked towards Wendy.   
  
"The One, huh. Doesn't sound too impressive. I guess I should go down to Willy's and have a   
look around as well", she said and threw a knife in the dead center of the target. "I guess that we   
should begin looking for all references to this the One character", Willow said with a sigh. Giles   
nodded and went into the stacks, while Wendy went to get her jacket.  
  
Wendy had been at Willy's several times this year. She had been introduced to the little rat by   
Angel, when they had needed information once. She walked down the street towards the place. It   
was late afternoon and Willy's would just have opened.   
  
Wendy stopped and looked at the ground. Someone had killed a vampire there. She sighed. That   
One seemed just as gifted as her or Angel, maybe she could be made an ally. Wendy didn't find   
any clues on the street and decided to go downstairs.   
  
Willy was in a lousy mood. No sooner had Spike returned to town, had his troubles begun once   
more. Spike was a great customer, but always seemed to attract trouble to Willy's. Now his   
reputation amongst the vampires of Sunnydale would be ruined.   
  
Someone wearing a black cloak and hood had decimated his entire clientele of vampires on the   
worst possible night. He hadn't even been able to count the number of smashed chairs and   
glasses yet. Willy poured himself a glass of whisky and surveyed his destroyed bar.   
  
"Well, well, well Willy. It seems that someone didn't like your place one bit or in one bit", a   
familiar voice said from over by the entrance. He spun around and faced the Replacement Slayer   
as the vampire of Sunnydale called Wendy. "Oh, hi Slayer", Willy sighed and realized that bad   
luck usually came in droves.   
  
"What can I help you with?", he asked and limped towards her. Angel's attack a year ago had   
destroyed his kneecap beyond repair and left Willy with a perpetual limp. Wendy smiled sweetly   
and walked inside. "I wanted to look around", she replied and stopped in the middle of the room.   
"Oh, well then help yourself. And don't bother to threathen me. I was not in when that bitch,   
whoever she is, attacked. I only know what the vampires told me, and I'm sure that's what they   
told Angel after that bastard tortured them", he replied bitterly and went into the storeroom.   
Wendy hummed a happy tune and began looking around in the debris of Willy's bar.   
  
She bent down and looked at a piece of a chair which had been broken. Wendy examined the   
edge of the piece with one finger. It seemed that it had been cut by something instead of   
smashed. Wendy stopped and looked around again.   
  
She had been in Willy's for half an hour and something about the entire scene had bothered her   
until now. "She used a sword or a knife", Wendy realized and smiled. She dropped the wooden   
debris and left. Willy walked over and looked at the former chair.   
  
She woke earlier this time. She was getting better.   
  
The girl looked around in the bare apartment. She couldn't make herself go home. They had   
buried her over a year ago, she was dead to her friends. Buffy looked into the mirror. There were   
no marks or scars anywhere on her body. She was amazed.   
  
"I came back, but how? And why?", she thought and turned back towards Angel's former home.   
  
"I can't just turn up now and say: Hi how have you been. That wouldn't be right. I'll stay in the   
shadows until I have no other option", Buffy thought as she dressed. "But I have changed", she   
thought and drew the black cloak, she had bought from money she had stolen from some   
vampires, before she killed them, on her first night back on Earth.   
  
"I have to get more resources soon", she mumbled when her stomach rumbled.   
  
Buffy walked with the cloak under her arm. People didn't seem to notice her, when she didn´t   
want them too anymore. Like a shadow she walked amongst the people of the mall. She saw   
people she didn't know buy stuff they didn't need. She watched Cordelia's former friend   
Harmony flirt with a cashier. She saw Willow and Oz drive by in his van.   
  
She followed them into the library, although she had to take the back route, which had usually   
been reserved for Angel. Buffy crept into the armory and retrieved her favorite crossbow and a   
lot of arrows and stakes.   
  
She tiptoed back amongst the stacks, when Wendy, whom she presumed, was her replacement,   
walked into the library. The rest of the gang had already collected around the table as they had   
done back, when she had still lived. Buffy turned to leave. She already knew where she could go   
hunting tonight.   
  
Suddenly she felt a dark presence with her heightened senses. She heard his steps clearly. She   
had to stop herself from drawing her weapon. He was coming to the meeting as well. Buffy had   
to bite her lip to avoid call out to her beloved.   
  
Angel walked past her hideout. Not even he could pierce her disguise. Buffy decided to stay and   
listen. She hung the crossbow on her back. Angel had made his usual silent appearance.  
  
"Hello", he said. Xander yelped and jumped in shock. "That's it. Next time I see you I'm tying a   
bell around your neck", he said angrily.   
  
"Sorry", Angel apoligized with a smile and went to stand next to Giles. "Have you found   
anything of importance?", he asked the librarian. Giles sighed. "No. There are no references   
anywhere to a Cloaked One or something similar to that which would actually fight vampires.   
There are however some other very bad news. Willow?", he gave the word to her.   
  
Willow got up and walked around. "I looked into why Spike might collect so many vampires,   
and I think I found something. Tonight is a holy night for the vampires. Tonight is the Creation   
night. It celebrates the creation of the first vampire warriors by a vampire named Tythonicus   
back god knows when. Tonight it's possible for a vampire to feed upon a person or a vampire and   
to permanently gain greater strength. Of course that increase would be abnormally huge if a   
vampire say got to drink the blood of the Slayer. I think Spike is trying to become as powerful as   
the Master, who did the same thing many many years ago. If he succedes, we'll have another   
vampire lord another Master on our hands", Willow explained and looked around.   
  
"I think that means the vampires will try to attack us. All of us. We know a lot of secrets and so   
would empower a vampire greatly. We need to barricade ourselves somewhere safe", she   
suggested and looked at Giles and Angel for approval.   
  
"I think that would be prudent", Giles said and nodded as Jenny Calendar walked in the door.   
"Good let's go home to me. We'll be safe there", Giles offered and smiled to his betrothed. "Can   
we make it before the sun goes down", Xander asked. "I don't know", Angel asked and looked   
towards one of the windows. "You do have about fifteen minutes, but are you sure you are the   
only targets", he commented and looked at everybody.  
  
"Anything, Spike and any other vampires he prepares for this evening, kills will make them   
stronger. Tomorrow you could be facing a Master and a large group of Warrior vampires instead   
of just Spike and his gang, if we don't stop him off course", Angel explained.   
"Damn I hadn't thought of that. Do you and Wendy think, you can defeat the vampires, if they   
attack in large numbers. We still don't know how many vampire underlings he has?", Giles   
asked. "Around 20 vampires. And yes I think Wendy is up for the challenge, so am I for that   
matter", Angel answered and looked at the Slayer for support. She nodded gravely, but deep   
inside Wendy knew that this could be her last night on Earth.   
"Don't forget about us", Xander said. "We can all help a little", Willow offered. "Yeah, we could   
all get killed", Cordy argued. "No Willow is right. We can help. We must", Oz explained and   
looked coldly at Cordelia.   
  
"Has everybody suddenly gone insane? Ms. Calendar?", Cordy asked for her support. "Shut up   
Cordelia", Jenny commanded. "Angel is right. We have to stop Spike before he becomes too   
powerful. Do you think he'll attack us here?", she asked Giles.   
He seemed to consider it for a moment. "Yes, he knows our habits. He will attack here early in   
the evening, when he can be almost sure we'll be here trying to figure out his next moves. If we   
weren't here, he'd move his warriors to all the other places we usually gather at", Giles answered   
thoughtfully.   
  
Buffy heard every word. Somehow the thought that these brave souls kept defending Sunnydale   
even after her death filled her heart with warmth.   
  
She wanted badly to be with them amongst them.   
  
She wanted to be with her lover with her friends.   
  
She wanted something like her old life back.   
  
She had missed them all of them. Xander's wit and jokes, both the good and the bad ones.   
Willow's quiet intelligence and their warm friendship. Giles's concern and his immense   
knowledge, which had always been a pillar for her to lean on. Even Cordelia, Ms. Calendar and   
Oz, who she hadn't know exceptionally well, but who still belonged amongst them.   
Then there was him. Angel, her only love. Her heart beat raced at the mere thought of him and   
now looking at him the loneliness, she had felt already yesterday, felt even deeper.   
But she couldn't go to them. A voice inside of her warned her against it. She was forbidden that   
option. She could only hope that one day they learned about her and until that day she had to   
remain in the shadows. Even if she didn't know why.   
  
Buffy sighed and turned to leave. She would also have to get ready to protect her friends, to   
defend her city. That wasn't forbidden.  
  
Wendy heard a sigh not far away. Again she spun about and stared into the forest of bookcases   
and thick volumes of knowledge, poetry, science and stories. "Is something wrong?", Giles   
asked.   
  
"I thought I heard something up there again", she said and slowly walked up the stairs with a   
drawn stake. Angel followed her. They stalked around but found nothing. "Damn, am I going   
nuts?", Wendy said with chagrin as she came back down.   
  
"Nothing again the stacks are empty", she cursed and stared back there again. "That does   
however bring up one important subject", Jenny said and looked at Giles. "Where do we make   
our stand?", she asked. Everybody fell silent for a while, then Xander suddenly said. "I know.   
We don't just make one. We meet them on the lawn, before they get inside. Then we lead them to   
the gymnasium and let Wendy and Angel work on them, while Giles and Ms. Calendar shoot the   
critters with the crossbows. Meanwhile me, Oz, Willow and Cordy gang up on one vampire at a   
time using whatever means we can think off", he explained triumphantly.   
  
Willow, Oz and Cordelia looked at him with shocked expressions. "Doesn't that get Angel and   
Wendy in a lot of trouble", Willow asked him. "What would you rather do? Fight them in here,   
where Snyder is usually snooping around for damages Giles can't explain. Or out in the halls   
where they can split us up. No, I know it gives them an opportunity gang up on us as well, but at   
least they have to drink our blood instead of just killing us", he tried to defend his plan.   
  
"Well, it has a few rough edges, but I think it's workable. I think Wendy and Angel should meet   
them on lawn and stall them, while Jenny and I shoot them from the roof of the Gymnasium,   
then you break off and let them come inside. Inside you can bombard them with holy water and   
we can use crosses to block places as well. It can work, if we get to work right away", Giles   
explained.   
  
Xander smiled triumphantly at his friends. "Let's get to work then", Wendy said and walked   
towards the armory.   
  
"Giles!", Wendy yelled. He charged in. "We have a problem", Wendy explained and pointed to   
the open weapons locker, where the crossbows usually hung. Giles looked inside.   
  
"The biggest crossbow and a lot of arrows are gone", Wendy pointed out. Giles nodded. It had   
always been Buffy's favorite, because it gave her superior distance. He had thought to use it   
himself, even if it was incredibly hard for him to reload it. "Who the hell could have taken it?",   
she asked. Giles didn't say anything. He walked out into the library again.   
  
"Angel? Did you take a crossbow from the armory?", he asked the pale vampire. "No... Why?",   
Angel didn't understand. "Someone has stolen the heavy crossbow", Giles explained and looked   
back towards the armory. "Maybe Wendy did hear something after all", Willow suggested and   
looked around at the others. "Maybe. Well, we don't have to time care about that now. We still   
have two crossbows and besides no one had used that crossbow since...", Giles stopped speaking   
when Wendy came out of the armory.   
  
"Since Buffy", she replied sweetly and sighed. "How??!", Giles asked surprised by her   
knowledge. "Giles. I can read. Besides you have all been dropping clues about her all the time.   
Don't worry I'm not going to quit because of her", Wendy said and winked at Willow. Giles   
shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I thought you might give up on your post, if you had learned that   
she had died fullfilling her duty here in Sunnydale", he explained. Wendy laughed.   
  
"At first I might have. But now I'm in for good. This hero business is kind of habit forming.   
Besides I enjoyed reading about her. She must have been quite a Slayer, if your journals are any   
indication", she said and placed a huge pile of stakes on the table. "Let's get this done", she said   
to her astonished Watcher. 


	5. War and Angels

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 4: War and Angels  
  
"Spike! The sun has gone down", one of his underlings yelled and jumped down from the second   
floor. "Good", the vampire said and fingered the amulet. He looked at the seven vampires   
kneeling in a half circle before him. None of them had killed for seven days as commanded in   
the ritual.   
  
Soon Spike and his seven warriors would become a true force of evil. Soon the blood of man   
would flow like wine in the streets of Sunnydale. As soon as he had gained the strength of many   
souls. Spike finished the last unholy incantation.   
  
"Rise my brood", he jumped to his feet. "Tonight we rule the night", Spike yelled in triumph. All   
of the gathered vampire growled in response. They all turned to leave. "Remember the Slayer,   
Angelus and her pet librarian is mine", he commanded and they went for their cars.  
  
Buffy was hidden on the roof of a school building, she could see the entire lawn, the road and   
most of the entrances from her lookout. She had just restringed the crossbow and loaded her first   
arrow. Spike wouldn't be long. Suddenly Angel and her blackhaired successor walked out onto   
the lawn and stopped. They were talking about combat moves and her.   
  
Buffy sucked in air and sighed again. Could the new Slayer also take her position with Angel.   
Then she saw Giles and Jenny armed with the light crossbows sneaking onto the roof of the   
gymnasium. Buffy smiled at their plan. They would fight the vampires to a stop on the lawn, so   
Giles and Miss Calendar could get shots off at the bloodsuckers, then when the fighting got too   
dangerous Angel and her replacement would probably run away. That would be repeated inside   
with different weapons.   
  
She hoped, they didn't mind some help from her. Buffy could suddenly sense dark presences   
moving up the road towards the school. Spike was arriving. She dodged into hiding and checked   
the crossbow once again. She would help her friends no matter what.   
  
Wendy saw the three vans stop and the doors open. Vampires came running towards her. Besides   
her Angel prepared as well. A vampire came within her reach. Instead of engaging it Wendy   
threw the stake in her hand like a knife. It landed right in it's heart. It burst to dust before it   
landed on the ground. "Subdue them", Spike screamed as he walked calmly from the open bay of   
a van.   
  
Seven vampires dressed in black long coats stepped out and formed a half circle in front of him.   
Angel dusted another, while he and Wendy withdrew. The vampires kept getting closer to the   
gymnasium. They were encircled. "Game over", Spike said in a satisfied tone. "Now where are   
your friends?", he asked impatiently.   
  
"Here!", Giles yelled and fired an arrow in the back of a vampire, who was about to tackle   
Wendy from behind. Jenny joined in as well, but neither Giles nor Jenny were expert bowmen   
and many arrows didn't hit anything much less the exact heart of a vampire. But the hail of   
arrows from the rapid firing crossbows gave Wendy and Angel room to escape towards the   
doors.   
  
Suddenly a vampire about to jump upon Angel's back was shot by a very large arrow. The   
creature dusted. "The angle of that arrow was wrong", Angel thought, "it didn't come from   
above". Suddenly one of Spike's warriors stared stupidly at his chest as the next arrow came out   
through his chest. He fell into a pile of dust. Everyone looked in the direction the arrow had   
come from. There was nothing.   
  
"Inside!", Wendy yelled as the remaining 26 vampires and Spike was about to continue their   
onslaught.   
  
Angel slammed the door shut behind him. The lock clicked. It would probably not even hold   
them for more than a second or two. He ran into the gymnasium after Wendy.   
Inside Xander and Oz were ready with their patented holy water grenades, made up mostly of   
water ballons filled with Giles entire store of holy water, while Willow and Cordelia was hiding   
at the fuse box to make sure the light was on during the fight.   
Giles and Jenny were climbing down from the roof. More arrows waited at their new posts at the   
back end of the gymnasium. Still everything seemed hopeless. "Unless...", Angel thought about   
the last arrows unknown source. It had reminded him of a heavy crossbow arrow like the one that   
had been stolen.  
  
Buffy had drawn her hood down. She had to get to the gymnasium to prevent a disaster. She had   
to save her friends no matter the cost. She didn't have much time. Buffy ran faster than she had   
ever been able to before.  
  
The door was kicked into a thousand splinters. "Don't kill them. Bring them to me alive.   
Remember that", he commanded as his remaining vampires swarmed around him. The vampires   
charged into the lighted gymnasium. Spike welcomed the open fight, he knew that he could lose.   
The vampires were greeted with a batch of water ballons containing holy water. He saw some of   
his underlings getting hurt, but no one died. The two boys quickly ran out of ammo and ran   
away.   
  
The librarian and his black haired girlfriend were still trying to hit with their crossbows, but they   
would run out of arrows and time sooner than he would run out of vampires vampires. Only the   
two fighters in the center of the large gymnasium concerned him. The Slayer and Angel. They   
would cost him some vampires for sure, not that he really cared as long as he won.  
  
Wendy saw the throng of vampires approaching. They were too many. She drew a stake and   
prepared herself. A really ugly female vampire jumped in front of her. Wendy recognized her.   
She had been a classmate of hers. She had disappeared last week.   
  
Without thinking any further Wendy gave her a solid high kick and moved forward. The vampire   
sailed through the air and landed hard on the wooden floor. Wendy flipped forward and plunged   
the stake into the prone vampiress. She cleanly landed on her feet and moved on to the next in   
line.  
  
Giles fired on the group that ran towards them. "Rupert, we should have practiced more", Jenny   
said in a light tone, trying to diffuse the tension. The vampires were only seconds away, when he   
got off his last shot. For once it struck true and the vampire fell to dust.   
  
But one of his three buddies threw himself forward and bowled Giles over. Suddenly the vampire   
turned to dust as well and rained all over him. Jenny had fired at point blank. Another vampire   
hammered her in the ribs. She let out all her air and fell to her knees.   
  
Suddenly the vampire glanced stupidly at his chest where the tip of a stake protuded. He fell to   
dust revealing Willow and Cordelia coming to the rescue. The last vampire tackled Cordelia.   
Giles jumped onto it's back and tried to struggle with it. Xander and Oz were also on the way   
over. They were followed by five vampires. The odds hadn't improved at all. Ten vampires were   
fighting a hardbitten battle against Angel and Wendy, while Spike and his remaining six warrior   
hung back.   
  
Wendy reeled back. The vampire had punched her hard in the gut, and she had lost her breath.   
Suddenly another vampire kicked her hard in the knees from behind. Wendy fell. She was in   
trouble.   
  
Angel staked another of his enemies. Suddenly a female vampiress jumped into him from the   
side and pushed him to the ground. Two vampires tried desperately to capture his arms and pin   
him down. The battle was almost lost.  
  
Spike smiled and gestured to his warriors. "Go knock them out", he commanded with a growl   
and looked towards the end of the gymnasium, where the most of Buffy's old friends were   
making a stand. Five of his vampires were already there, and two more were running from the   
fight with Slayer to help them. Spike laughed hard and knew he had almost won. Too bad Buffy   
had died. She would really have suffered while watching this happen.  
  
Angel saw the two huge warrior vampires moving towards him. He wasn't finished yet, but they   
were out of time. He could defend Sunnydale no longer. "Soon my love. I'm coming soon", he   
thought.   
  
Suddenly there was a loud whine and a long arrow struck one of the warriors in the chest. He   
was flung backwards and dusted in midair. Before anyone could possibly react another arrow   
struck the vampire holding him down.   
  
Angel jumped to his feet.   
  
Suddenly the sound of battle quieted and everybody engaged in battle with Angel and Wendy   
looked towards the deep shadows up on the right side of the stands.   
A vision of darkness stood there. It was cloaked in what seemed to be an impenetrable deep   
black cloak and a large hood hid the creature's face fully. In it's hands were the heavy crossbow   
stolen from the armory. Only two small white hands hinted that this was actually a human   
shaped.   
  
"Kill it", Spike suddenly screamed, "And bring me the others".   
  
Wendy also saw what had to be the One and she shuddered. Something in the creature scared   
her. It`s appearance had given her time to regain her breath though.   
  
Wendy swung her feet high and locked them around the neck of the vampire, who had been   
trying to hold her. Wendy swung her self backwards in a salto. She heard the vicious snap of the   
vampire's neck breaking as she landed on her feet. It didn't move nor did it dust. She would   
finish it later, if she got the chance.  
  
Five vampires ran towards her. Behind them Spike's warriors moved to engage her love and the   
Slayer. She had to act fast. Buffy began humming a happy tune, as the fighting made her feel   
truly alive.   
  
Her hands moved with inhuman speed. She drew an arrow from her sidequiver, cocked, loaded   
the crossbow and fired right on target with unerring precision. The weaker vampires fell like   
lambs to the slaughter.   
  
She was as good as before her death, but she was a lot faster. Four vampires exploded into dust   
one after another, then she ran out of arrows. The fifth vampire saw it's chance and dashed up   
towards her. Buffy also moved.   
  
Without batting an eye she used the heavy wooden crossbow as a stake and hammered the   
ungainly weapon through the vampire. It died.  
  
Angel saw the creature move with a grace and speed unmatched by anyone. When it used the   
crossbow as a stake he winced. Another memory of Buffy destroyed.   
  
The warrior vampires were well trained and many times more dangerous than anyone of the   
vampires he had fought this night. He moved with a learned precision. He began the dance of   
blocks and parrys which made up a fight amongst warriors.   
  
He kicked, it dodged. It punched, he blocked.   
  
His blood sang. Suddenly Angel saw an error in the vampire's move.  
  
It had come to close and had turned to the wrong side during it's last dodge. It crouched low.   
Angel suddenly kicked it's knee with full strength and heard a satisfying crack as it's kneecap   
was busted. Angel hammered his fist into the exposed neck as it fell forward. He heard the spine   
break. The vampire was paralyzed and could be destroyed later. Angel wheeled about and looked   
for another enemy.  
  
Spike saw which way the battle was going. He wasn't beaten yet, but he would be. He needed   
help from at least a demon to fight that damned cloaked figure, who had destroyed his warriors.   
Spike withdrew, while cursing. Then it occured to him. He didn't need to make this a total loss.   
He could still become stronger. The vampire stalked into the night for other prey.  
  
Two warrior vampires approached her. She seemed unarmed to them. The slim figure underneath   
couldn't be armed with more than one or two stakes at most. They grinned and prepared their   
attack. This one would make them nearly invincible, if they could drink her blood.   
  
Buffy smiled broadly as the two cocky vampires circled around her. She had reached the floor of   
the gymnasium. She could see Giles and Oz defeating the last of their vampires. Only one   
remained back there. Her successor was fighting a normal and a warrior vampire. She seemed to   
be a match for them. And Angel was just finishing his enemy. She could destroy the two demons   
in front of her, then go off to hunt Spike without endangering her friends. She crouched low and   
readied herself.   
  
Suddenly the leftmost vampire tried to rush her with a low punch. Buffy made a perfect   
crossblock. Her great strength outmatched the hardness of his bones. She heard his wrist break.   
The vampire cursed.   
  
Suddenly the one, who was now behind her, tried to knock her out with a twohanded blow to her   
neck. Buffy bowed low, while pushing her arms hard forward and kicking high and backwards   
with her left foot.   
  
The vampire in front of her landed hard several yards away, while her kick connected to the   
other vampire's solar plexus. Buffy heard it's bones break and shatter. The vampire howled in   
inhuman pain.   
  
Buffy went back to a relaxed fighting stance. The vampires got up. They seemed unsteady but   
not beaten. Angel had finished his enemy. He would be approaching her soon. She had too finish   
early.   
  
Buffy drew her long sword from out of nowhere. She didn't know where it came from or how she   
had gotten it. She only knew that it was her weapon and that it could kill vampires like they were   
normal humans. It even penetrated steel if swung hard enough.   
  
The vampires growled, but didn't show their surprise. They tried to attack her from both sides   
again. Buffy swung out her sword in the direction of the one in front of her, while ignoring the   
one behind her.   
  
The vampire was chopped in two by her sword and both parts dusted before they landed. The   
other vampire hit her hard. Buffy felt the pain in her back, but she only staggered forward. Buffy   
felt a strange outrage and anger towards the vile creature.   
  
Suddenly she spun around, reached out with her bare hand and grabbed the surprised vampire,   
who had expected her to at least fall, by the throat. Suddenly the vampire screamed as her touch   
made it's skin boil and burn as if hit by holy water. It looked into the darkness hidden under the   
hood.   
  
Buffy threw the creature backward against some gym equipment. The creature suddenly   
screamed in utter terror, as she walked towards it to finish the job. It crawled to it's feet and tried   
to flee. Buffy felt strangely detached as she uncerimoniously threw the sword tipfirst like a spear   
through the chest of the vampire. It died.   
  
Angel saw the entire battle. He couldn't help, as he had to rescue Wendy from the warrior   
vampire. The last he saw was the creature drawing it's strange slender and beautiful sword from   
the floor and disappear out the door. The vampire finally turned to dust as Wendy rammed it   
with a stake from behind. They had won.   
  
Thanks to the wonderful and at same time strangely dreadful cloaked creature, who had saved   
them. Uncertainly Giles and the rest of the gang approached. Every one had some minor wounds,   
bumps and scratches but seemed all right. "Giles, I'll call you later. I have to see, if I can catch   
that thing", he yelled and ran towards the door.  
  
"Damn it I lost him", Buffy cursed and kicked the dumpster to relieve her pent-up frustration. It   
rolled down the alley, until it was stopped by a heap of garbage. "Ok, that just means that it'll   
have to wait until tomorrow or the day after that or the day after that. He won't get away", she   
mumbled and turned to leave.   
  
She still had to pick up something to eat. Her stomach growled and she was deeply hungry.   
Buffy checked her wallet. She only had enough money for this meal. She would have to beat up   
a couple of vampires with money soon or find a job. She sighed and began the long walk back   
toward her apartment.   
  
Angel looked down the alley. He saw the cloaked one disappear around the corner like a shadow.   
"You sure know how to sneak around, but I'll find out your secret", he swore and followed.   
  
Angel turned out onto the street as well. He walked fast so to keep up. Angel walked down   
another alley, but he couldn't make out the creature anymore. He looked around for tracks. "I lost   
her", he realized and looked around again. "The only thing around here is the Bronze. I don't   
think it'll go there, but it won't hurt to look", he thought and walked that way. Buffy smiled from   
her hideout on the fire escape. She had heard him, as she had walked in here. Buffy jumped   
down and began walking to an all night cafeteria nearby.  
  
Xander was helping Cordelia put her shirt on over her large scrape. Giles and Jenny were in his   
office trying to bandage her forearm. Willow was applying a bandage to a scratch on Oz's knee.   
Wendy was holding some ice to her forehead. "You should have seen that thing", Wendy   
exclaimed and turned her head slowly, so she wouldn't feel more dizzy.   
  
"You mean that cloaked person?", Xander asked.   
  
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it was not a human being. I mean, it fired six arrows with a heavy   
crossbow in under ten seconds, then it used the crossbow as a stake. The next I saw was that it   
gripped a warrior vampire by the throat, which had just landed a perfect blow in it's lower back,   
without even blinking. You know what happened then? The vampire started to cook as if it had   
been hit by a vial holy water. Then it threw the vampire over five yards and the vampire started   
scream as if it had seen the devil himself. It was about to leave through the sidedoor, when that   
cloaked critter threw a really long sword like a lance and implanted the poor sucker to the floor.   
Then without reason the vampire just dusted as if hit by a stake and that thing just waltzed over,   
took it's long toothpick and walked out of here like we had just been on a picnic", Wendy paused   
to regain her breath.   
  
Giles had been listening at the door. The others were staring at Wendy in confusion. "That sort of   
means that we owe our lives to that thing, right?", Cordy asked. No one answered. Oz just   
replied after a second or two: "Well as long as it only slays vampires, I say we party and leave it   
alone".   
  
Willow shook her head. "What if it doesn't realize that Angel is a good vampire? It could kill him   
too", she said and looked around.   
  
"You're all missing something very obvious. That thing knows us", Jenny commented and found   
a chair to relax in.   
  
"What do you mean?", Xander asked and looked curiously at miss Calendar. "Well, it knew   
enough about us to steal a crossbow and arrows. It appearantly already knows that Angel is good,   
because it saved his life back there as well as ours. It knows the layout of the school, and it   
appearantly had some knowledge of Spike and his plans", she explained.   
  
"And it knows Willy enough to want to smash his bar into kindling. Besides it is probably what I   
keep hearing amongst the stacks", Wendy added. "All that certainly adds up. But what is it?",   
Giles asked and looked around for suggestions.   
  
"I say, we should look for references or legends about swords and swordbearers", Willow   
suggested. Giles nodded sagely. "I had hoped to get some sleep", Xander moaned. "Don't worry   
tomorrow isn't a schoolday", Oz said and patted him on the back. "I can't help, I have to go to a   
family dinner out of town tomorrow", Cordelia said sheepishly. "That's all right. We won't get   
any constructive work done anymore tonight anyway. Let's all go home and sleep. All those who   
can comes here tomorrow then we can start our research", Giles said and went for his coat.   
  
"I'll bring some snacks", Jenny offered. "Great see ya all tomorrow", Wendy said and turned to   
leave. "Wait all of you", Angel said from amongst the stacks. Wendy spuns about. A stake was   
in her hand. "Good reaction", he replied and walked down the stairs.   
  
"I'll stay here, if you don't mind, so I'll be able to help as well. I might have more information by   
then", he said and sat down. Giles nodded and they all left. Angel looked out the windows.   
  
"Strange, something about the One's fighting style seemed very familiar", he mumbled and   
looked around for a place to sleep without getting hit by the sun.  
  
Buffy stopped in front of the two story building. It had been her home once, but somehow she   
knew that she couldn't just go in and saw hello to her mother. The same car stood in the same   
spot as always. The garden was well tended and everything else seemed the same, but Buffy now   
knew that she had been dead for a year. Things would change when a year passed, they usually   
did.   
  
Buffy walked up to the side of the building, where her room had always been. The clock was   
well past midnight. Buffy sighed, but she had to get some stuff. She just needed something to   
make her feel at home in the new place, she had chosen just a few hours back. She didn't want   
Angel to find her accidentally back at his old place, and so she had found an entire floor above a   
warehouse, where someone stored old furniture and boxes. The owner of the warehouse seemed   
to have abandoned it as serious storage space because of the low ceiling and lack of access apart   
from an old rusty iron stairwell and a normal steel door.   
  
Buffy had already informed him that she would be moving in and the owner had agreed to rent   
the place to her for a hundred dollars a month. It was a ridiculously low price, but the place also   
didn't have any heating. Buffy didn't really freeze anymore and as the roof was leakproof, and no   
windows were broken, she could live and train there. All she needed now was some money and   
some of her stuff.  
  
The money Buffy had already gotten hold off. She had walked into Willy's as the Cloaked One   
and decked him without saying a word. She had stolen all of his money. She did feel a little dirty,   
but Buffy knew that he hadn't come by those money legally anyhow, and the most of it were   
bloodmoney or cash from the different criminals and vampires he catered too. All she wanted   
now was her personal stuff.   
  
Buffy had crawled up to the window to her room and looked inside. She was surprised. Her room   
looked nice and tidy as if she had just cleaned and had then covered everything with white   
bedsheets. Her mother were still maintaining her room, Buffy realized.   
She felt a deep sorrow. She so wanted to wake her mom and tell her. She wanted to go to Angel   
and kiss him. She wanted to be with her friends. She even wished that she still went to high   
school. Buffy sighed and shook her head.   
  
She took out one of the stakes she had stolen earlier and jammed into a certain spot in the   
window frame. Buffy knew exactly where the lock was. She wiggled the stake up and down.   
  
Buffy heard a small click. Slowly she drew the window open and slipped inside. 


	6. Suspicions

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 5: Suspicions  
It was Saturday morning for Joyce Summers. She had been up early and said goodbye to Hank,   
who had slept with her again. They had gotten back together after Buffy's death, but they had   
decided not to marry or move back together. Their relationship had too many scars to bear being   
permanently together again. Their feelings had been rekindled, but they were still careful.   
  
Joyce smiled. Hank showed much more concern for her, when he was her boyfriend. Maybe it   
was better to keep men at a certain distance to keep their interest. Distance made the man   
remember that there were still others in the running for the female. Joyce broke out of her   
musings as she came out of the bathroom.   
  
She heard a strange noise from Buffy's room. Hank kept trying to make her put Buffy's things   
away. He said it kept too many wounds open, but Joyce couldn't. She felt it would be the same as   
to forget her. Her beautiful daughter, who commited suicide, because of the harsh treatment of   
her by her peers, her school and her mother.   
  
Joyce ripped the door opened and looked inside. A window was open and the wind was making   
the curtains dance like a ghost. Someone had been here, Joyce realized and stormed inside. She   
looked around. Some of the white sheets had been moved. She opened the closets. They were all   
empty. "Fuck. I'll kill the thief, who did this", she swore and searched the room.  
  
Joyce was shaking with rage. Someone had broken in and had stolen all Buffy's clothes, her   
jewelry, her make-up and a photo album. Joyce had called the police and reported everything to   
the man they had sent. He was looking at the window frame right now. "This damage isn't   
recent", he said and looked out on the lean-to. "It seems someone has been walking around up   
here. Your burglar definitely came in this way", he replied and got back inside.   
  
"Has this happened before?", he asked suspiciously and eyed the window sil. "No", Joyce bit him   
off. "Oh, well I'll write up a report, but we don't have enough to go on, so I might as well warn   
you that it's very unlikely that we'll find any of it again", he said and sighed deeply. "It's just too   
many thieves out there Mrs Summers", he replied as she lead him downstairs. Joyce felt like   
screaming, but she knew the man was right.   
  
"Wait a minute. Was anything in there valuable?", he asked as he stood in front of the door.   
Joyce thought for a while. "No, but it all had enormeous affectional value though. It was the   
property of my dead daughter", she answered truthfully. The man suddenly seemed angry. "What   
a low-life does something like that", he thought and said: "Maybe I'll pursue this further. It's very   
unusual for a thief to take something like that. Do you know of anyone, who would want stuff   
like that? Did she have any boyfriends?". Joyce shook her head.   
  
"You see my daughter Buffy commited suicide a while after she was accused of manslaughter,   
which she was acquited from incidentally. She only had a few very close friends, but none of   
them would even think off, let alone be capable of, such an act", she explained. The man's   
shoulders sagged again.   
  
"I'll let you know, if I find anything", he said and turned to leave. Suddenly he pointed at a   
picture of Buffy, Willow and Xander sitting on the lawn laughing. "Is she one of those?", he   
asked. "Yes, the small blond one in the middle", Joyce answered. The policeman nodded. "She   
was very beautiful", he commented thoughtfully and walked outside. "Bye", he said and left.   
Joyce sighed in resignation and went to call Willow and tell Buffy's friend the terrible news.   
Officer James O'Neill walked away from the Summers house lost in thought.   
  
Buffy lifted the heavy bags and walked up the creaking stairs. She had spent several hundred   
dollars stocking her apartment and paying off her landlord. She had bought new clothes,   
earrings, food, a refrigerator, a TV, a small electrical stove, a large closet, a couch, a bed, a table,   
a new mirror for the very small bathroom, a mat and some other stuff to train with. She had also   
bought a few electrical heating units. She was just moving the last things inside.   
  
Buffy looked around her new place. It would double as a home and gym. She just needed to hang   
the sand bags from the steel hooks in the ceiling, and she would be ready. Willy would be having   
a very bad time right now. Finally exhausted with the long night and the morning spent shopping   
and carrying heavy loads she dropped onto her still plastic covered bed and fell into a deep   
pleasant sleep.  
  
"You won't believe it!", Willow raged as she walked in behind Oz. "What's wrong?", Xander   
asked and looked at Oz for information. "Someone broke into Buffy's room last night and stole   
almost everything", Willow said and looked at Angel. He jumped up. "What?", Wendy asked,   
she had been in Giles office sharpening stakes.   
  
"I'm beginning to see a pattern here", Giles declared. "I think that someone, who either loved or   
hated her very much is trying to gather or wipe out every physical memory of her. It all began   
after Spike came to town", he explained. Xander whistled. "It's the most logical conclusion to   
assume that he did it, but he hasn't been invited into Buffy's house as has no other vampire but   
me", Angel said and looked up towards the sun shining at the drawn curtains.   
  
"No, it all began on the exact death day of Buffy", Oz commented and dropped into a chair.   
Everybody looked at him. Wendy suddenly snapped her fingers. "Weren't the first attacks by that   
cloaked thing on the same night?", she asked and looked at Giles. He seemed lost in thought and   
didn't react. "That would make it just as likely a suspect", he finally answered and sighed. "I had   
hoped for an ally, but this could very well mean that the Cloaked One is just an alias for some   
greater evil than Spike", he sat down in a chair like everybody else and sighed once more.   
  
"Angel you got the best look at that sword. Could you describe it to us?", Willow broke the   
pained silence. "Way ahead of you. I spent most of the morning drawing it", he said, "I don't   
know why, but that thing filled me with dread and those things I remember". Angel handed the   
paper to Giles, who held out his hand. He looked at the picture. "I didn't know that you could   
draw so well", he said and smiled.   
  
"It gives me something to do on the days when I can't sleep", Angel replied silently and then   
whispered, " so I get a lot of practice". "Wendy. You seem to be able to hear it, when it stalks us.   
Could you try to stay alert, while we research this creature?", Giles asked. Wendy nodded and   
walked up amongst the stacks.   
  
"Giles. You'll have to step up her training now. Spike will be more powerful than ever, and this   
creature is even more powerful than that", Angel said. Giles nodded sadly, this decision would   
cost the girl the last of her precious free time. "Let's hit the books", Willow said and grabbed one   
of Jenny's sandwiches.  
  
"I think I found a picture of it", Xander said and pointed to a black and white drawing in an   
ancient tome. The back read: "The Sepulcher". Giles bent forward and looked at the drawing.   
"Here", Xander said and handed him the book. Giles read the text below the picture: "The Sword   
of Torin". He looked at the picture once again, so did Angel.   
  
"No, that isn't it. The handle is too elaborate", he said. Xander sighed and grabbed the book back.   
"Damn, it's late. I have to go see, if anyone of my contacts have heard any thing of either Spike   
or that cloaked thing", Angel said and left. Willow moved her chair a little. Everyone was busy.  
  
The clock was well past eleven. Giles and the others were discussing which of the swords they   
had found were the right one. Suddenly the phone rang. Giles hurried over to pick it up. "Yes, it's   
me. I'm listening", Giles paused to listen then laughed harshly. "Bye", he hung up and walked to   
the end of the table.   
  
"It seems that our dear friend Willy has had unwelcome visitors last night. The cloaked bitch, as   
Willy calls her, walked in to his bar and broke his jaw with one punch. Then she walked out   
again with his entire cache of money. He explained to Angel, as he visited him in the hospital,   
that it was around two thousand dollars", Giles told them and smiled.   
  
"Wait a minute, how could he explain anything, if his jaw was broken", Willow asked and   
looked around. Xander purposedly bent forward and wrote something on a piece of paper. "Oh",   
she said and leaned back in her chair. "Anyway Angel is coming back here to help us right now",   
Giles explained and sat down. "I still think my candidate is right", Willow said and jabbed her   
finger at a book open before her. The discussion began anew.  
  
It was well past midnight. "I give up", Xander said and yawned. Oz blinked and shook his head.   
"Well, I think that we should stop. There doesn't seem to be any record of either the creature nor   
the long sword", Willow suggested and slammed a heavy book down. Giles rubbed his eyes and   
put his round glasses back into place.   
  
"Yes, you're right of course. We might as well call it a day and go home", he said and got up. He   
still had to put the large piles of books away. "I'll go out and see if anyone has seen Spike yet",   
Angel said and stalked away. The tired teens and Miss Calendar began cleaning the desk and   
putting the last stuff away. They all needed sleep. Wendy had gone off to patrol her town hours   
ago.  
  
Like a shadow Buffy walked through Sunnydale. She was looking for her enemy. She was   
looking for Spike. Suddenly she heard the noise of fighting. Buffy looked over the low wall   
surrounding the small park.   
  
Inside a large male vampire was fighting against a small darkhaired girl. It's latest victim lay in   
the pale light of a streetlight. Buffy saw the bitten girl still breathing. She heard a wail. The dark   
haired girl flew through the air and hammered against the lamp post. Buffy shook her head. Her   
replacement needed help.  
  
Wendy fought to regain her breath. She was fighting her third vampire already, and it had   
surprised her. Her chest felt like it was burning, and she couldn't breathe properly. The vampire   
closed the distance between them.   
  
"Don't ever give up", Giles' voice said in the back of her head as he had told her a thousand times   
during practice, when he had beaten her with a staff or held a sword to her throat. The vampire   
growled and got ready to lunge at her. This could be the end of her life.   
  
Suddenly another voice spoke from the darkness. "Hey. Why fight a snack like her, if you can   
get your teeth into a real feast like me", it said.  
  
Wendy gasped and looked to her right. The vampire turned and growled threateningly at the   
cloaked figure standing there. "Who are you?", the creature asked. "I have come to save your   
soul", the figure said. A sword seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the being's right hand. The   
vampire broke into a headlong charge and tried to rush his enemy.  
  
Buffy saw the creature coming. She spun the sword over her head and swept it forward while   
taking a step towards her enemy.  
  
It's head flew past her.  
  
The body rapidly disintegrated into dust. Buffy drew back her sword and turned on her heels.   
She wanted to go away before the Slayer regained her breath and poise. Buffy stopped dead.   
Wendy stood in her way.   
  
"All right. I've had enough of your act. Who and what are you?", Wendy demanded and readied   
into a combat stance. Buffy sighed and held out her empty hands in a gesture of surrender.   
Wendy didn't move. "Look. I just want the truth then you can leave", she said and gestured   
towards the dark figure hidden in a cloak standing silently before her.   
  
She felt a shiver going down her spine as she stared into the dark recesses of the hood. The cold   
light of the lampposts didn't penetrate the darkness even though it should have. There were no   
face or chin visible only darkness. Nothing happened. "Hey are you even listening to me?", she   
asked again.   
  
"I am listening", Buffy finally answered, "it's just not any of your business who or what I am.   
Believe me when I say that I'm not your enemy". Buffy turned to leave the other way.  
  
Wendy reacted as fast as she could and grabbed hold of shoulders of the creature. The cloak was   
warm from the creature underneath. The creature at least couldn't be a vampire.   
  
Buffy acted as fast as she could. First she elbowed the Slayer in the chest. She spuns around and   
hammered the surprised Slayer on the side of her head.   
  
Wendy became crosseyed and collapsed to the ground. The last thing she heard before   
unconciousness claimed her was the One's steps disappearing into the night.  
  
Wendy woke up. The early morning sun warmed her and made the birds chirp all around her.   
Slowly the Slayer pushed herself to her feet. Wendy looked around. "Oh, no. I'm in so much   
trouble", she cursed and began to run. After a few steps she groggily stopped and held out a hand   
to support herself against the lamp post. She was still dizzy from the Cloaked One's punch.   
"She knockouted me with a single blow", Wendy thought in bewilderment as she began the long   
walk home to a hopefully still sleeping family.  
  
Sunday afternoon...   
  
Buffy walked in silence between the large warehouses. She felt bad, because   
she had punched her replacement late last night. The Cloaked One's reputation was becoming   
more and more unsavory. Buffy had punched a good person, because she had tried to stop her   
from going away. She had been forced to protect a secret she didn't even want.   
  
That also bothered her. Buffy knew that she had been changed by her death. She didn't know   
how or even why she had returned. Alright she knew that she had been returned to Sunnydale to   
fight some evil, which wasn't meant to be, and that she had to do this without her friends or   
family knowing about her return. She couldn't reveal her identity. So someone had commanded   
her. Buffy kicked an empty can. "If I could only remember why", she cursed and resumed her   
walk.  
  
The phone rang in Giles' living room. He was laying on the couch with a book on his face. He   
had fallen asleep reading. Slowly the aging librarian reached for it. "This is Rupert Giles", he   
said and listened for a response. "Hi, Giles", Wendy's voice said at the other end.   
  
"Oh, hi Wendy How did the patrol go last night?", he asked and drew himself up to a sitting   
position. "Badly. I got two vampires and fought a third, but that Cloaked thing killed it. Then   
when I questioned it, it knocked me unconcious", she explained. "What!", Giles shouted. Wendy   
didn't answer. "You fought it?", he asked. "N-No, as I said. It completely surprised me. First it   
hammered all the air out of me, then it put my lights out with one punch", she answered ashamed   
of her defeat. Giles took at few seconds to ask his next question.   
  
"Did you learn anything about it?", he asked. "Well it fights so fast that it almost moves in a blur.   
I didn't even see it's hands moving before it hit me. The vampires were right though. It's has the   
shape and voice of a normal girl as far as I could tell for the cloak. Oh and it seems able to cloak   
itself for real in somekind of darkness", she explained. Giles thought it over.   
  
"Hmm, as you're still alive, we can ascertain that it doesn't want you dead. It could have killed   
you easily. Secondly it seems that we're looking for an aggressive being with high strength and   
incredible speed. For now don't confront it again. We'll have to wait for some extra books on the   
subject I have ordered from the Council", Giles said. "I have to go now", Wendy said as a voice   
spoke to her in the background.   
  
"Bye Giles", she whispered. "Bye Slayer", he mumbled and hung up. "This is not good, and it   
seems that our new townspook is a shaky ally at best. Why? Why can't I figure out what it is?   
Who is the One?", he thought and sat down at his desk. Giles began to leaf through the   
Pergamum Codex to see if it mentioned anything about the One in the Slayer Prophecies.  
  
After nightfall...   
  
Slowly the figure rose from it's sleep. It was still covered in the dried blood and   
gore from it's night of war. "Revenge", the blond vampire screamed into the empty sewer.   
Around him lay the leftovers of his unfortunate victims. Spike walked off into the deep darkness   
of the sewers. He needed an army. He needed warriors. He wanted to kill his enemies.  
Monday morning... Buffy walked down the road towards the mall. She needed some new clothes   
and some magazines. She didn't even know, what time of the year or even what clothes and   
hairstyles are in these days. "This calls for a major shopping spree", she said, as she walked into   
the newly refurnished mall complex. Buffy hummed a happy tune and set about spending more   
of Willy's hard earned cash.  
  
Later...   
  
Officer James O'Niell from the Sunnydale police was having a fairly bad day. He had just   
come from the mall. There had been a spree of shoplifters these last few days. He had picked up   
the latest batch of video surveillance tapes. He had to watch hour upon hour of boring video with   
people coming and going through the entrances of mall and the stores. O'Niell sat down heavily   
before the TV and popped the first tape into the video. A black and white picture flickered across   
the screen. O'Niell leaned back and began his work.  
  
"BAM BAM BAM", the sound echoed through the library. Wendy was venting her anger at the   
sandbag. Willow was sifting through one of Giles' new books on magical and mystical weapons.   
"BOOM", the sandbag suddenly flew of the chain and landed on the floor a few feet away. Giles   
looked up from his studies. "That is enough Wendy", he said.  
  
Wendy didn't listen. Instead she kicked the sandbag as hard as she could. She was sweating from   
the exercise. "Stop!", Giles commanded. Wendy stiffened and turned to face her Watcher.   
  
"Wendy. You only lost a fight. There is no need to be so aggressive", he commented. Wendy   
scowled back at the sandbag. "It's not because of the cloaked critter. I nearly lost a fight with an   
ordinary vampire. I'm not good enough. I just have to train harder", she said and went over to   
pick up the sandbag. Giles sighed. He couldn't say more to appease her.   
  
Willow turned a page. The left page of the ancient tome showed a sketch of a long sword. The   
grip was simple and long, the pommel was unadorned and the guard looked like two feathery   
wings. Willow gasped and grabbed her copy of Angel's drawing. The pictures matched. "Giles",   
she shouted, "I found it!".  
  
Giles and Wendy dropped everything and ran to the redhaired girl. Willow looked at the picture   
in the book once again. The inscription read: Behold the sword of the Messenger. "Giles? What   
Messenger?", Willow asked and looked up at the puzzled librarian. "The Messenger", Giles   
muttered and remember one of the passages of the Slayer Prophecies:   
"Beware of the Messenger for it shall be heralded by death. Beware of the Messenger for it's   
appearance shall portent great woe and a Slayer long dead shall be forgotten. Beware of the   
Messenger for it shall overpower the Slayer, and all will come to an end after that".  
  
Giles suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach. This prophecy had always been one of those   
everyone wished didn't exist. "Giles?", Wendy asked as she saw the suddenly pale Watcher,   
"What's wrong?". "This is very bad. The Messenger is a portent of very bad times according to   
Slayer Lore. It supposed to appear in the days of the end. The One could be an agent of the most   
horrendous evil ever to exist or just an observer. No one knows for certain", he explained and sat   
down.   
  
"This is bad", Wendy remarked, "I say we capture that thing and find out for sure". Wendy   
smiled. She badly wanted a rematch. "No", Giles said and rose, "we have to find out what it is   
exactly. We're playing a dangerous game here, and only through knowledge can we win".   
Willow smirked. "Strike another one down for the information age", she commented.  
  
James popped another tape into the VCR and yawned. It was almost dark outside. "Oh, well it's   
the last one", he said and leaned back with his still smoking coffee cup. Slowly black and white   
pictures rolled in front of him. They showed the Mall, as it had been this morning. The tape   
showed the entrance.   
  
Suddenly a beautiful young girl walked in. She had blond hair and an even tan. The coffee cup   
slowly fell from his hands. James gasped. The coffee cup smashed onto the floor. "She said, she   
was dead", he stammered and jumped to his feet. The picture was frozen. James looked closer   
trying to determine, if he was right. He didn't have a doubt. He had been called out to a break-in   
and theft just this Saturday, and he still remembered the picture of the smiling girl, whom the   
mother had said was dead.   
  
This was the very same girl.   
  
James always a sucker for a mystery popped the video out again and packed up. He had the   
report about the theft somewhere, and if the girl had died there would be a report somewhere   
with her name on it. He had already identified the shoplifters his partner could make the arrests.   
James wanted to solve this new mystery as well. On his way out he stepped in the remains of his   
coffee. James didn't notice.  
  
Spike towered over the sorry remains of the vampires of Sunnydale. Their mightiest warriors and   
greatest thinkers had all been eliminated during these last nights. Nights which should have   
meant the end of the Slayer and her helpers had become their undoing, because of a mysterious   
cloaked figure and her amazing fighting skills.   
  
"You are all weak", he bellowed. The group around him slowly drew away. "But it doesn't matter   
anymore. We have been beaten. But that doesn't matter anymore either. I have returned!", he   
screamed and threw both of his hands up. "We need to destroy our enemies. And I have a plan",   
he said and jumped off the heavy wooden table.   
  
James looked through his disorganized notes. He always tried to write everything down. "Ah   
here", he mumbled and looked over his notes to the Summers case. He ran his finger down the   
paper. It stopped at a single word: "Buffy". "Got ya", he thought and turned on the computer to   
his left. Sunnydale had enough money for a very modern police force. James clicked on the Case   
File search feature and typed in: "Buffy Summers" as the keywords.   
  
The computer rapidly looked through the police files of the last three years that were online. The   
screen brought up a report. "Uh. It seems you have quite a record my dear", James thought and   
began reading.   
  
"Accused of arson. Acquitted. Multiple suspicions of violence and gang crime. Never proven.   
Present at several crime scenes. Accused of manslaughter of a mass-murderer. Acquitted.   
Commited suicide by burning in the Spring of 1998. Clearly identified by family and friends", he   
mumbled as he scanned through Buffy's file.   
  
"Amazing", he said and shook his head. Either this girl had a picture perfect twin or she had   
faked her death. James O'Neill was astounded. She had seemed so different in the picture so at   
peace and happy, but her record spoke of a life lived on the edge, a life lived with criminals not   
friends. "I guess I'll have to look into this... Tomorrow", he thought and grabbed his jacket. 


	7. Beginning of The End

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 6: Beginning of the End  
  
"I think I found it! Spike", the vampire growled and pointed down a tunnel. "It's a large cave   
with a lot of burned out candles, a huge cross and stuff", it eagerly reported. Spike looked down   
upon the growling creature. "Thanks", he said dryly and kicked the weak vampire in the face. It   
flew clear across the sewer intersection into the wall.   
  
The creature wailed and crawled away. Spike was annoyed by the weakness of his followers. He   
walked into the Master's cave. Spike looked around. "All right old man, let's see where you hid   
your secrets", he said and gestured to the vampires collected behind him. "Find all the books in   
here. Don't destroy anything or I'll kill you where you stand", he growled. The vampires surged   
into the room and began searching.  
  
She ran her morning tour along the docks. The salty air tasted fresh and she felt a bit better. She   
had killed another bunch of vampires last night, but somehow it didn't seem to matter anymore.   
She felt that something would change soon. Something would go wrong and the world would   
suffer the consequences. She reached a small beach and stopped. She marveled at the beauty of   
this world as she looked upon the blue waves coming ashore.   
  
Officer O'Neill walked up to the Summers house. He carried a small black box with a video tape   
in it. The bell rang. The good looking Joyce Summers open the door. "What is it mister O'Neill?   
Have you found my daughter's things yet?", she asked hopefully. James shook his head. The   
news he carried was much more disturbing. "No, but Mrs. Summers I might have some news on   
the matter. Can I come in?", he asked. She nodded and moved out of his way.   
  
He sat down on the couch and put the tape on the table. "What is this about then?", Joyce asked a   
bit nervously. "You said that your daughter died a year ago? Could you please show me another   
picture of her then?", he asked and tried to sound as neutral as possible. Joyce frowned a little   
then took down a portrait photo of Buffy from the wall. She handed it to O'Neill in silence. He   
looked at it in absolute silence for a while.   
  
"Thank you", he said and handed it back to her. "What is wrong?", Joyce asked even more   
pertubed than before. "Well I might have a strange clue for you here then. Do you have a VCR",   
he said and handed her the tape as she nodded. "Please sit down Mrs. Summers", he cautioned   
after she had handed him the remote control. He turned on the TV.   
  
"We recieved this tape in connection to another investigation, and I stumbled across this, while   
watching. Please brace yourself", he said and pressed the play button. Joyce looked at the strange   
police man then at the screen as a black and white picture sprang into view. "I have stopped it at   
the spot, you should watch. Look", he said.   
  
On the screen the automatic door to one of the entrances of the new mall open and admitted a   
beautiful blond girl wearing all white. Her hair was swept back in a pony tail and her face had   
the sort of openness you'd see in a person with absolute selfconfidence but none of the usual   
arrogance of such persons. She strode into the mall. At the button of the screen a display showed   
yesterdays date. The clock showed that it was a quarter past eleven in the morning.   
  
Joyce gasped. Her eyes filled with utter pain then incomprehesion then dispair. "Why! Why!   
Why do you show me this? Haven't you made us suffer enough? First you made her kill herself   
with your accusations of murder then this? Get out of my house of my life. Why are you showing   
me lies. This can't be. She's dead. Dead", Joyce raged then sobbed and began crying.   
  
Her heart filled with pain. The picture of her daughter was frozen on her TV screen. "I'm sorry to   
put you through this Mrs. Summers. I'm aware that you thought that your daughter was dead, but   
I looked at the files, the body that was found, was so badly burned they had to identify the corpse   
on jewelry, and that is actually only circumstancial evidence of the corpses identity. Maybe your   
daughter survived the fire or wasn't actually in it. Maybe this is her", he explained and hoped this   
woman would stop crying for it made him fell very bad.   
  
Joyce looked up. Her chin was tearstreaked and her eyes puffy. She sniffled slightly. She looked   
once again at the TV screen. In her head the wheels were turning. Buffy's strange behavior, her   
unprovoked suicide, the strange clothing and weapons and finally the missing diary. It all pointed   
in one direction.   
  
"I don't know", she whispered, "what has this got to do with my daughter's things being stolen".   
James sighed. "Maybe nothing, maybe everything. I would like to put an APB out on a person   
matching her description though, if that's okay with you that is. Maybe we could all get some   
answers this way", he offered. Joyce nodded mutely but kept staring at the TV screen. She still   
couldn't understand. But she knew who might help her.  
  
Spike looked around the now cleared floor of the factory. The girl at his side began to struggle   
once again. "We are ready Master", one of his vampires said. "Good then begin. Here uses this   
one for starters. Listen to me people", he said and paced around the room.   
  
"We're about to do something even more evil and heinous than any act ever before commited   
upon this world. I hope we're all clear about that. But the reward shall be truly great. For a few   
days from now we'll rule the miserable planet and all mankind shall be our cattle", he yelled. All   
the vampires cheered and began slitting the throats of their victims. The ritual began.   
  
Joyce stopped her car. She sat a while soaking in the silence. Dark clouds hung on the horizon. It   
would rain soon. She looked at the school. She hadn't been here since a few months before   
Buffy's death or...   
  
Joyce shook her head and unbuckled her seatbelt. She had a feeling that either Willow or Giles or   
many everyone of Buffy's supposed friends knew something about the mystery of which she had   
learned only a few hours ago. The school seemed abandoned at the late hour and most students   
would already be home with their families. Joyce walked towards the buildings.   
She stepped inside. Everything was silent. Slowly she walked towards the place that most   
unlikely of all to search for clues of her daughter. The Sunnydale High School Library. Joyce   
looked inside.   
  
"Strange", she thought as she looked through the small glass windows. The lights were still on   
and the place was far from abandoned. Willow sat with her boyfriend and was reading some   
really old looking books. Xander stood by the table with his back to the doors and was busy   
talking.   
  
A black haired younger girl stood up on the mezzanine and leaned against the rails, she seemed   
occupied by an even larger older looking leather bound book. Giles the school librarian was   
talking on the phone. Joyce frowned then sighed. Slowly she pushed open the door and walked   
towards her goal.  
  
Giles looked in total surprise when Joyce Buffy's mother came in. She seemed preoccupied and   
very intent on something as she walked towards the table where Buffy's friends sat. "Willow I   
have to speak with you in private", she said in a tone that tolerated no opposition.   
Willow looked innocently to her best friend's mother. "Hello Joyce", Giles greeted her and   
smiled, but Joyce only nodded and looked back at Willow while ignoring their surprised   
greetings. "What is it?", Willow asked. "In private Willow", she said once again. "O-O-Okay",   
Willow stuttered. Giles pointed to his office.  
  
Joyce closed the door behind Willow. "You're making me a bit nervous here", Willow smiled   
thinly to Joyce. Joyce seemed very sad and angry at the same time. Willow had never seen her   
like that before.   
  
"Willow have you lied to me about Buffy's death?", she asked without blinking. Willow gasped   
in surprise. "N-No", she stuttering unconvincingly. "Really", Joyce demanded. Her tone   
revealing her knowledge. "We... I can't. You mustn't ask", Willow sat down. "Listen to me   
Willow. I don't know what going on, but I'm sure there is a lot about Buffy that you're not telling   
me. And I don't believe your suicide story either. It's just to unlikely", she spoke loudly and   
harshly.   
  
Willow had never forgiven herself for her own lies about Buffy, but she had to respect her   
wishes, and she always kept her mother out of her dangerous world. Willow couldn't break   
Buffy's trust, but it tore her up inside. Suddenly she began weeping and stormed out of the office.   
"Willow", Joyce called out to her. "Shit, oh why did you have to do that Joyce?", she cursed and   
slowly went out to meet the angry stares of Willow's friends. Joyce didn't speak to anyone after   
that she just left.   
  
It was already dark thanks to the deep rain cloud hanging over Sunnydale. Hunt was a young   
police officer, but he knew his job and he actually liked most of the time. His partner was just   
getting them coffee from a donut shop and he used the time to look through some pictures of   
wanted persons they had got at the watch change.   
  
"Wow there's a looker", he whistled while looking a picture of a tanned blond girl. The photo   
was over a year old but the girl was wanted for questioning. Hunt continued to leaf through the   
papers.  
  
The symbols were taking shape on the factory floor already. Tomorrow the end would begin.   
Tomorrow the world would fall to him. And it would only cost him a few thousand souls. But   
what did he care for the lives of mere humans they were cattle anyhow. "Work faster", Spike   
bellowed to his followers, while the unholy symbols began to burn with an infernal light. The   
clouds grew heavier and thicker.   
  
Angel crouched in the shadows behind a large dumpster. Two vampires stood nearby. They were   
Spike's guards.   
  
"Do you think he has gone insane", the one asked the other. "Nope, I just think he's pissed   
because that cloaked bitch crushed his minicrusade last week. Now he feel justified in bringing   
those things to destroy his enemies", the other answered. "Yeah, but isn't that insane. Not even   
the other demons will consort with pure chaos. What did he call them. The Empty", the first said.   
"Yep that what he said. But he seems to think he can handle them. And I won't argue with him   
on that. Besides he says they can actually give us the world on a silver platter if they get what   
they want", the second said.   
  
Angel had heard enough. The One would have to wait now the entirety of creation was   
threathened. He stepped out to kill them. Then there would be less to contend with later.  
  
Buffy looked out the window. She could feel evil hanging over the city like a cloth. The time   
was coming nearer. She could feel it. Soon she would know why she had been returned. She   
went over to gather up her cloak. She would have to stop it. Stop evil before everything she   
loved was threatened.  
  
"There is some pretty strange weather outside. It looks like it should rain, it smells like it should   
rain, but it doesn't", Xander said and walked over to get his jacket. "We're heading home then",   
Cordy said with a smile. "Sure", he replied and smiled to her as well.   
  
Willow were still sitting silently in her chair. Whatever she and Joyce had said to each other it   
had clearly upset her. "You coming with us?", Cordelia asked, "I have the car today". Willow   
nodded vaguely and stood. Giles and Wendy were busy discussing their course of action now   
that the One had been identified as the Messenger a kind of mystic portent of very bad times for   
the Slayer. Suddenly Angel walked in the doors, he seemed very distraught.  
  
"GILES!", he roared. "Wow", Xander yelled and jumped in surprise. Willow was shaken out of   
her apathy. Giles stormed out of his office. Wendy followed right behind him. "What's wrong?   
Are we under attack?", he asked in alarm. Angel shook his head.   
  
"We're in big trouble I'm afraid", he said and walked heavily up to the table. "You know already   
then. We only found out a few hours ago", Giles said rather smugly. "How can you be so calm,   
when our world is standing at the brink of disaster", Angel grabbed Giles by the collar   
threateningly.   
  
"Wait, be calm Angel. What are you talking about?", Giles asked a slight tone of fear in his   
voice. "What! Why the Empty of course. Don't be daft man, we're standing at the brink of the   
Apocalypse, and you sitting around drinking tea and discussing. We must...". Giles interrupted   
him.   
  
"Wait a minute. I wasn't talking about any Empty. We were referring to the Messenger. We   
finally identified the One. It's a creature called the Messenger. We haven't positively identified   
it's purpose yet, but it seems to foretell dire end to the Slayer and possibly the world", he   
explained. Angel scowled a little.   
  
"I'm sorry, Giles. All your precious research is irrelevant now. Spike is trying to raise the Empty   
and when they arrive, we won't have time to care. We'll all suffer for eternity", Angel stated   
matter-of-factly.   
  
In the meantime Willow had risen from her chair and moved around to flank Angel. "What are   
you talking about? Who are these Empty you're talking about?", she asked meekly. Angel   
frowned and sat on the edge of the table. He sighed and began to explain: "The Empty are   
oblivion. Entropy and chaos taken to the max. Imagine creatures made of evil, hate and immense   
magic. Not even the most insane demons dare summon them. They were cast out from Hell for   
being too disruptive or so Darla told me. You see even the Master feared them, and he personally   
supervised the massacring of a cult of demon worshippers, who had tried to raise them. And he   
chose me for the job. That's how I know about them. Spike must have gone insane or something   
after the Night of Creation. Right now he's at the warehouse trying to bring them here. We must   
stop them now, before he succeds, for there will be no after".   
  
"That sound really bad", Willow whispered. "You had too ask", Angel mused. "There is only one   
thing to do then", Wendy said. Everybody looked at her. "We have to assault him and bring an   
end to William the Bloody once and for all", she said and walked purposefully towards the   
armory. Everyone followed her intent etched upon their faces.   
  
Buffy hadn't drawn the hood over her head yet. She was still along way from her goal. "Damn,   
how can I know this", she thought and walked into the dark evening. A strange dread drew her   
across town toward her enemy. "I must stop him", she mumbled and walked across a street. She   
didn't remember to make herself unnoticed by the people around her.  
  
Officer Hunt sat in the dark car and relaxed. They were waiting for a small time dealer, whom   
the guys over from the Drug department wanted to ask a lot of questions, but he seemed a bit   
late. Hunt's partner was slowly leafing through a magazine he had brought. Hunt sighed and   
looked out into the night again.   
  
A beautiful and surprisingly small girl crossed the street. She walked as if lost in thought about   
something important. Hunt almost choked on a bite of his donut. "Shit. Lopez look. There isn't   
that the girl they want for questioning down at the station", he asked and pointed her out to his   
surprised partner. "Yer right", Lopez nodded and replied, "let's pick her up". Hunt opened his   
door and stepped out into the warm evening.   
  
"Excuse me miss", a voice called out behind. Buffy should have made herself scarce at that   
moment, but curiosity made her turn around. "Yes?", she asked. "I'm sorry Miss, but I'll have to   
take you down to the station for questioning", a young very well built police stood before her.   
  
Buffy considered running or evening knocking him out for a moment, but couldn't bring herself   
to do it. She had felt so bad hitting her successor and she didn't want to compound her mistake   
by beating up a police man. Besides his partner was well out of reach and both were well armed.   
  
"Ok, I surrender", she replied with a sad smile, "but I really haven't done anything, and I've got   
to be somewhere soon". "I can't help you with that. You're for questioning that's all. I don't think   
I'll have to cuff you or anything, if you come quietly", he said. "Sure", Buffy replied and ducked   
her head, as he helped her onto the backseat. A strange calm seemed to fill her.  
  
Joyce walked unsteadily into the police station. O'Neill had called ten minutes ago and told her   
that a patrol car had picked up a girl, who's description matched that of her daughter. Joyce had a   
huge lump in her throat. What if Buffy hadn't died? Why would she have faked her death? If so   
who had they buried? Thought buzzed around in Joyce's mind.   
  
"Hello Mrs. Summers", O'Neills familiar voice greeted her into the busy main room of the police   
station. "H-Hello", she stuttered and turned to her left to meet the nice police man. "It's this   
way", he said and gallantly lead her towards the much quieter interrogation rooms.  
  
"Do you recognize this girl?", O'Neill asked and pointed to the one way window. Joyce walked   
slowly up to the glass and stared into the bleak room. A blond girl sat sullenly at a small table.   
The light of the single ceiling lamp shone upon the girl's necklength blond hair, which was held   
up two butterfly hair clips.   
  
The girl seemed to constantly shift in her chair, as she was really uncomfortable with the   
situation. Joyce stared at the beauty sitting before. A lone tear rolled down her chin. "I'm not   
sure", she lied, "Could I talk to her?". O'Neill winced at the enormous pain in the woman's voice.   
"Sure", he said.  
  
Buffy knew that they would be watching her from behind the mirror, but she didn't care. She   
couldn't stay much longer, her sense of urgency was building constantly. Suddenly the door to   
the room slowly opened. Buffy looked on in utter detachment.   
  
She didn't really have anything to say to the police. Slowly a woman walked inside. Buffy   
gasped in surprise and shock. Her mother was standing before her. "Oh, my god", she whispered.   
What could she do now?  
  
Spike rose and walked slowly into the immense design drawn upon the concrete in the blood of   
innocents. He stopped in the exact center and took out the ancient leather bound tome. The   
summoning could finally begin.  
  
Giles shoved the key into the ignition. "I have some more weapons at my place. Let's all meet up   
there", he yelled out the still open door. Cordelia nodded vigourously opened her car door.   
Xander, Willow and Oz rode with her. Giles looked back at Angel seated behind him.   
  
"Do you think this will work?", he asked. "Why shouldn't it? We have all the advantages this   
time. He might be stronger, but his forces are next to zero and not even Spike can create killer   
vampires within a week. He's our only problem, everything else is just dust waiting to fall",   
Angel said with a slight growl from his demon hidden deep within.  
  
Joyce walked slowly over to the empty chair standing opposite to her. She didn't dare look at the   
girl, she couldn't because if she did she would cry and right now wasn`t the time for that.  
Buffy looked at her mother. Her dear dear mother, who had nurtured her, who stuck with her   
when everyone else had called her a delinquent or worse. Her mother, who had loved her always   
in the weird silent way mothers love their children.   
  
And Buffy loved her back. She couldn't help it, no one could help to love a loving parent no   
matter what they said. Deep down all children love their parents, even if they grow apart and   
grow to hate each other. You always remember your mother's love. And right now her mom was   
looking very sad. "God, this is so painful", Buffy thought and swallowed a lump in her throat.  
Joyce drew in a breath. It had to be Buffy, she looked exactly like her. But she couldn't be sure,   
she didn't feel sure of anything anymore. How should she start a conversation. What could she   
possibly have to say. Joyce looked at the girl. She stared back at her. She seemed to have tears in   
her eyes.   
  
"So what have you been doing Buffy?", it blurted out of her. The girl seemed rattled by this.   
Joyce felt a strange anger building inside her. Buffy couldn't have. She couldn't have faked her   
death, why would she do that? She wouldn't have made her suffer like that.   
  
"Mom, please. I-I can't", the girl stammered. "What! You can't. Do you have any idea how   
you've made us all suffer. God Buffy we buried you, we mourned you. It took me months to even   
work up the guts to leave the house. I-I. How could you! You ungrateful bitch. And and your   
friends. I have never seen anyone so unhappy. It took Willow almost this entire year to get over   
it, and Xander. And Giles. And....And. I can't believe this", Joyce raged without looking at   
Buffy.   
  
Suddenly she became aware of someone crying. She stopped and looked at Buffy. She was bent   
over the table, her tears dripping on the black surface, her sobs shaking her body. "I'm sorry. I'm   
sorry. But Mom you don't understand. I am dead. I really am", she muttered between each   
heartwrenching sob.   
  
"Talk sense Buffy", Joyce frowned and looked down at the crying girl, "You can't be dead Buffy.   
You're sitting right here". "I-I know", Buffy replied her crying slowly subsiding, "But I died   
mom. I was in the fire, I couldn't get out, the house collapsed and I was burned alive". "You   
faked it, so you should know", Joyce replied quickly. "But mom I died. You buried me on the   
southern cemetery near our home, and...", suddenly Buffy's real memory returned, and she   
remembered the Light and...   
  
"Mom. I can't explain it to you. I'm not allowed to. But I was sent back to Earth to do something   
and I must do this soon", she explained with conviction. "God, has she gone insane. Is that why   
she did it? Did she really have a breakdown as Willow said?", Joyce thought and examined   
Buffy with her eyes.   
  
Buffy looked back at her. A certain clarity and peace had come over her. "Mom, when all this is   
over. Go to Giles and ask him to give you my diary, read then ask him, Willow and Xander   
questions. They'll tell you the truth. And my stuff is over on 23rd Street on the top floor of the   
warehouse, please take it home again. I got because I thought my stay here would be longer", Buffy  
rose from her chair and walked towards the door.   
  
Joyce was taken aback and didn't react fast enough. Buffy gave the door a solid kick. It didn't   
even have time to splinter, it just flew straight out of it's hinges and into the opposite wall.   
Joyce jumped up in surprise and ran after her daughter, who had left the room in a quiet walk.   
  
When she turned the corner, she found Officer O'Neill unconcious. There wasn't a mark on him.   
Joyce looked around. Buffy was nowhere in sight. "What the hell is going on?", she cursed and   
ran. 


	8. The Choice

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Chapter 7: The Choice  
  
"Are you ready?", Giles asked for what seemed to Xander being the hundredth time. "Yes! Now   
be quiet", Angel hissed and grasped his sword even harder. Xander looked around. Cordelia was   
besides him. She had borrowed one of Giles' clubs and even though she probably couldn't use it,   
she looked very impressive with that and a load of stakes and crosses.   
  
Willow and Oz seemed like the perfect vampire hunters as well. Willow had armed herself with   
stakes and a few bottles of holy water, while Oz had accessorized with a very light crossbow as   
well. Jenny and Giles was equally attired in addition both had brought the light crossbows and   
the quarrels.   
  
Angel had only brought a few stakes and a very meanlooking sword from Giles' home armory,   
while Wendy the Slayer had only brought stakes, but then again that was enough for her.   
  
Xander sighed. All of them knew very well that this was most likely their last battle all together.   
He couldn't shake a nagging sense that some of his friends or even himself wouldn't survive this.   
They were crouching behind a dumpster and a few crates no more than hundred meters from the   
warehouse.   
  
"All right Angel and Wendy take the lead. Giles and Jenny provide the cover, and we guard the   
rear", Willow said. Everyone nodded their agreement. "God I wish Buffy was here", Xander   
couldn't help mumbling. Willow smiled at him sadly and nodded her head in agreement. "Go!",   
Wendy yelled and began a wild charge at two vampires not far away.  
  
The cloaked figure ran with inhuman speed toward the warehouse district. "I hope I'm not to   
late", she thought and jumped over a car without blinking. Suddenly she felt something from an   
alley, she was passing. The sword flashed in existence, and she landed in a battle stance. "Whoa   
there. Relax Buffy. Don't attack", a unfamiliar voice spoke from within the shadows. But   
somehow Buffy already knew.   
  
"This gotta be a first", she said with a half-smile. "No actually it isn't. I was just passing by and   
wanted to give you guys a greeting. Professional courtesy so too speak", the demon said. "I don't   
have time for this. What is your decision? Does this satisfy your agenda?", Buffy asked. "No,   
actually we have all pretty much agreed that the Empty must be defeated. But are you up to it? I   
could help you... for a price of course", the creature suggested.   
  
Buffy snorted in derision. "We don't need your help, but are satisfied that you won't try to   
impeed us. The game goes on then", Buffy said suddenly overflowing with knowledge of the   
most ancient war, the most ancient game and suddenly knew that it could and should never end.   
  
"Gotta go, nice meeting ya Whistler", she yelled and ran away. Whistler slowly stepped out of   
the alley and wiped sweat of his brow. "Damn, I hate meeting those things, one slip of the tongue   
and it's over. No eternal torment, no returning to Hell, it's just over. But you gotta admire their   
power and determination. I actually think that if they wanted too this could have been over many   
aeons ago. Now that makes you wonder", he muttered and stalked away into the night. He still   
had a lot of work to do.  
  
"Watch out", Xander yelled as the vampire tipped over the crate. He was too late though. It fell   
heavily on the girls. In his distraction he had missed the demon, which snuck up on him from   
behind. Suddenly it jumped onto his back and started to claw at his face. They tumbled down   
into an uneven fight.   
  
Wendy and Angel were already inside, but the warehouse was a lot heavilier defended than they   
had expected. Giles and Jenny still fought a desperate battle.   
  
But Xander feared he was loosing his. The vampire pummeled him in the face. He felt the   
darkness welcoming him. He was falling into unconciousness. Suddenly he tasted ashes in his   
month and the punches abruptly stopped. Oz was standing over him. A deep gash above his right   
eyebrow was sending a trickle of blood down his chin, but a part from that Oz seemed okay.   
"The girls", Xander whispered and sat back. He felt very dizzy and numb. Oz hurried past him.   
There were still other vampires to take care of.  
  
Buffy rounded a corner. She could feel the evil spell all around her. It's harmonies filled the   
aether with fear and despair. It was about to be completed. She only had minutes to finish what   
she came for.   
  
Suddenly she saw a strange scene before her. Giles sat caring for a wounded Jenny bleeding   
from an ugly wound on her left arm. Willow and Cordelia were nowhere in sight. Xander was   
sitting with his back to the warehouse and Oz was passed out next to a large crate.   
A vampire came running at Giles, and he looked at it in utter resignation. They had no more left   
to give. They were finished, waiting, defeated by their human frailty. Buffy didn't even bother to   
draw her sword for this unworthy creature.  
  
Giles sighed. He had no more stakes, and no one else was in any condition to fight. He only   
hoped that Angel and Wendy were more succesful inside. The vampire looked around and   
smiled widely with his demonic visage. "You there", he said and pointed at Giles. "You'll die f...   
AAAARRRRRGGHHHH", suddenly the vampire screamed in the most pained tone Giles had   
even heard in his life. The vampire struggled and his legs bowed out from under him, but he   
didn't fall.   
  
Then Giles noticed. Behind the dying vampire the Messenger stood. It held the vampire's spine   
in it's right hands vampiric blood still dripping from it, while it's left hand was clasped around   
the demon's neck. With a carefree flick of it's arm it threw the demon down the alley as if it was   
a speck of dust. The Messenger walked purposefully towards the entrance.  
  
"Wait", Giles staggered into it's way. "I can't let you pass", he said. He had read the prophecies,   
he knew that the Messenger meant no good to the Slayer. He would stop it here. "Why are you   
standing in my way?", it asked in a girl's voice.   
  
"The voice. It's so familiar", Giles thought and shivered. "Because I know you seek to destroy   
the Slayer and I can't let that happen. I'll stop you", he said and tried to make himself look   
bigger.   
  
"I'm really sorry about this. But you have never been able to take me", the Messenger said. Giles   
thought he could detect a slight tone of amusement in it. Suddenly it dawned on him, but his   
reason, his logic screamed to him that it couldn't be.   
  
Buffy decked him with one punch and stepped over his prone body. Xander was lying besides   
the door unable to stand for his concussion. "What are you going to do?", he asked the cloaked   
creature. "I'm gonna go in there and slay them. Like I always do, Xander", a familiar voice from   
the past said.   
  
"Oh, my god", Xander said and struggled to stand. "It can't be", he whispered and followed her   
with his eyes as she went inside. He crawled towards Giles wincing at every move he made.   
"Come on G-Man, you got to wake up. This is no time to sleep", he said and began shaking the   
unconcious librarian.  
  
Buffy heard the sound of battle. Slowly she stalked inside. The dark corners of the warehouse   
suited her fine, until she found her prey. Her replacement lay unconcious very close to the huge   
blood colored symbol which was drawn upon the warehouse floor.   
  
Angel was struggling with the last two of Spike's bodyguards. But he was already badly   
wounded and even fresh he would be hardpressed to fight those two and Spike. Buffy looked   
around for him. He was standing at the center of the symbol finishing the incantations of the   
spell. She had to stop him.   
  
Suddenly Angel roared in triumph. He had kicked one of the vampires into a crate and a lucky   
wooden plank had staked the demon. Angel slammed his last stake into the other very surprised   
vampire. Spike stopped chanting and looked at Angel in annoyance. "Listen could you step   
outside for a moment. I'm in the middle of negotiating a very important contract", he said and   
laid the book down carefully.   
  
Angel reached down and picked up his sword. "Uh a toothpick. Well, I had hoped to save this for   
that cloaked bitch, but then there is... another target now", Spike looked at a table in one corner.   
A sword flew to him. "You see my dear friends the Empty are very eager to leave their prison, so   
they gave me a few gifts, when I first contacted them", Spike swung the sword heavily at Angel.   
  
Angel parried with skill, but the sheer force of the blow shattered the sword easily. Buffy wanted   
so badly to move, but she knew now wasn't the time. It was still too early. Spike swung another   
lightning fast blow. Angel screamed in agony and fell to his knees. He had a huge wound across   
his abdomen and blood trickled out.   
  
"I think I'm gonna let you watch while I curse this entire world to eternal darkness", Spike said   
and walked back towards the center to pick up his chanting again. Buffy knew. Now was the   
time.  
  
Spike cantered over to the book. Just a few more words a few more lines and this world would be   
his. Somewhere deep within a old voice seemed to say: "Why are you doing this? You didn't   
want to destroy humanity before Creation Night, why now", but Spike put it off. He was sure. He   
was in control, no one else.   
  
"Hey Spike, wait a minute this ain't over yet", a voice said behind him. He spun on his heels. A   
small creature dressed in a large black cloak with a cowl, which hid her face in unnatural   
darkness stood just outside the symbol. It was his hated enemy the one they had dubbed the One.   
Spike looked down at his sword then back at his enemy.   
  
"You want a fight. Sure. But you know I actually like you a little bit, so I'm gonna make it quick   
and painless. This won't hurt", he said and advanced on the seemingly unarmed girl. "Actually   
Spike this is gonna hurt a lot", she answered. A sudden sense of Deja Vu overcame Spike, where   
had he heard that before. With a roar he lunged at her.  
  
Spike swung his sword down. Her sword flashed out and parried with a swift stroke. Spike   
growled and swung again even harder. The girl just parried low and kicked him in the side. Spike   
gasped in pain. He could feel her hit, eventhough he was many times stronger, than he had been   
before. Now it was her turn to attack.   
  
She rained blow after blow upon Spike. Each time he parried, her sword darted away and came   
back just as fast again. She slowly painstackingly pressed him back. She was faster. He was   
stronger. They both fought like masters. For minutes the mighty battle continued. Strike. Parry.   
Feint. Counterfeint. They were evenly matched.  
  
"This can't be. I was to be invincible, stronger than any demon on earth, stronger than any Slayer.   
I can't lose", he thought and caught her blade with his guard. For a while they struggled their   
blades locked. Suddenly Spike had an idea. Before the girl could react, he reached out grabbed   
her cowl and ripped the cloak off her. While she was surprised, he kicked her in the stomach and   
send her flying across the room and into a few crates.   
  
He held her disguise in his hands. "Come out, so we can all see, who you really are", he yelled   
triumphantly."Now you have made me really angry", the girl's voice said from within the mess.   
She carelessly tossed the full crate aside and rose. Spike couldn't help gasping in surprise, "You.   
But you're dead. Andrea killed you".  
  
"I am dead, but that doesn't matter anymore. You have broken the rules of the Game, Spike, and   
not even the lords of all Hells would stop me anymore. You are going to be no more", Buffy   
said. She jumped into the air and swung the sword above her ready to strike a mighty blow.   
Spike saw her glide through the air. Quickly he held up his sword and readied himself for a   
mighty blow.  
  
With a mighty crash the two swords met. For an observer the world seemed to stand still for a   
moment. Then suddenly a sword clattered to the floor and a voice cried out in pain.   
Spike fell to the floor desperately trying to keep his lungs inside his ribs. Buffy's mighty blow   
had struck the sword from his hands and cut all the way down his chest from neck to stomach.   
Buffy stood before him in triumph. Spike knew his head wouldn't grace his body for much   
longer. Suddenly an idea came to him, and he quickly muttered a few words.   
  
Buffy heard. "No!", she screamed and cleanly sheared the blond vampire's head off. He turned to   
dust before she had even finished the move. Suddenly the ground began to rumble. Buffy could   
see the sky turn red with mystic lightning as the spell began to assert itself. Spike had set it free.   
  
Now nothing could stop the apocalypse.   
  
"Buffy?", a voice spoke in utter disbelief. Angel sat on his knees out side the symbol. It slowly   
began to glow an evil red. "Yes, my Angel. Shhh, don't move. I'll make it better", she said.   
She should have been pacing the floor. She should have been desperate. Instead she only felt   
calm and somehow detached again.   
  
Giles and Xander staggered into the room. "Oh, my god. I was right", Xander said, when he saw   
Buffy standing there. "But... but didn't you die?", Angel asked. "Yes, but they sent me back. I   
still had something to do. Something only I could do", Buffy answered.   
  
A strange red fog seemed to flow up from the symbol. Buffy knew what to do. If only she had   
more time, but she knew it wasn't so. Giles and Xander had reached Angel. They were about to   
enter the symbol. "No, stop. If you come in here, you'll become vessel for the Empty. Don't. I'm   
safe from them. Listen Giles I don't have any time left. My mom will come to you in a few days.   
Tell her everything. Make her understand. Don't let me be forgotten. Let everyone important   
remember me like I really was. Please", she begged.   
  
Buffy began to glow with a blue tinted white light. "Of course. What happens now?", he looked   
at the girl, whom he would miss always. "I return to the Light, and you all please get on with   
your lives. But first I must die... again", Buffy grabbed her sword and held high above her. Angel   
rose from the ground and tried to stumble towards her, but both Giles and Xander held him back.   
  
"Don't leave me", Angel cried, "I'll come with you". He got up and tried to run towards her.  
  
"No, not yet", she said simply and he stopped held by a force mightier than he had ever felt   
before. The light grew incredibly intense. The red light from the spell drowned in Buffy's light.   
  
"I love you all", Buffy said. The evil spell was destroyed. There was a huge flash of white light.  
  
Across town Joyce was driving around in utter despair. Suddenly a white light filled the dark   
sky. Joyce felt a presence in the car and a warm kiss on her cheek. "Goodbye", Buffy´s voice   
said from nowhere. Joyce stopped the car and bent over the wheel crying. "My baby, why you?",   
she asked again and again, but there could be no answer.  
  
Giles and Angel helped Jenny Calendar into the backseat of Giles' car, which she shared together   
with Wendy. Willow and Cordelia filled the entire backseat of Cordelia's car, which Angel   
would drive. His wounds was left untended for a while. It really didn't matter to him right now.   
  
High above them the clouds started to disappear. The evil had been banished for now and   
Sunnydale would survive to see at least another morning. A little later they drove off to the   
Hospital.  
  
Whistler stood in the shadows watching them go. In his hands lay an ancient leather bound tome,   
which had once belonged to both the Master and Spike. Slowly he put it down and drew out a   
match. "Here is to victory", he said and threw the lit match down onto the dry book. It easily   
burst into flames and the last knowledge of the Empty went up into smoke.   
  
Whistler looked towards the skies, then towards the warehouse. "Hmm, it seems that the other   
side has stricker rules about leaving home than us. Once you're finished you have to go home.   
  
Well not the happy ending I was hoping for, but then again maybe it's better this way", he mused.   
  
Whistler grinned and went back into the night. There were other evils out there. All of which he   
or his allies had to deal with. "But who knows maybe this isn't the last we'll see of the Seraphim.   
  
Things are getting hot down here", he mumbled. 


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed in the   
piece of fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,   
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises, Fox and(or) WB TV. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced   
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.   
  
Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and religious   
references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be applied.   
  
Note: This story takes place just before Surprise during the 2nd   
season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It represents an alternative storyline, which moves away   
from the BtVS story arc as represented in the series for the purpose of the story I want to tell.  
  
Epilogue:  
Joyce walked heavily towards the wooden door of Giles' apartment. She had dutifully waited   
until everyone had recovered from their mysterious wounds, then summoned them here. She   
wanted the truth, and this time she was going to get it. She knocked, and Giles opened for her.   
Everyone had already arrived. Willow still bandaged around her head. Cordelia with her broken   
arm. Xander, Giles and Oz who seemed all right. Jenny Calendar, whom Joyce didn't know very   
well. And strangely in the corner the mysterious older man Buffy had brought home a few years   
ago Angel, she believed his name was.   
  
"Welcome Joyce", Giles said and sat heavily in an unoccupied chair. "I talked to someone last   
week, whom I presumed was Buffy. She told me that you had her diary and could explain   
everything to me", she said. "I know. I talked to her as well. Joyce I must tell you Buffy is...",   
Giles began, but Joyce cut him off: "Dead. Yes, I'm her mother. I know. I still don't understand. I   
need to know the rest".   
  
"Well. I'll start at the beginning. Willow, Xander and Angel will fill in the blanks as we go along.   
Please if you have any questions ask later", Giles said and took up a cup of tea: "As far as my   
predescesor's notes tell me, it all started like this...".  
  
"But I think she was sent back to help us as something very different from her previous form",   
Angel sighed and looked out the windows. The sun would come up in a few hours. "If you hadn't   
proven it to me, I would never have believed you. But I can't dispute the evidence. Even if I don't   
understand it all yet", Joyce said.   
  
"Here", Giles said and gave her the diary. "Buffy always tried to keep her life a secret from you,   
so we took this to keep her secret. I guess that's redundant now", Giles said ruefully. Joyce held   
the precious book to her chest. "Ooohhh, I just wish she didn't have to die. She was...", Joyce   
was overcome with emotions. "Yes, we know. We all think, she was special as well", Willow   
said.   
  
In a place filled with light. She floated in the amazing Song, she heard them all again. "Can I rest   
now?", she asked hopefully. The voice replied. "Yes. Your part in this is over now. Destiny is   
still unbalanced, but we think it will work out for now". And the Light beamed beautifully as   
Buffy once again joined it.  
  
---THE END---  
to be continued in The Seraph, part 2: Never Ever. 


End file.
